Welcome to Rio
by Hex26
Summary: The story starts briefly after Jewel's wing heals. Life seems simple for the two blue macaws, with no major problems, friends and each other. What could possibly go wrong? Prequel to Birds of Blue Feathers
1. Little Monsters

It has been a day since Jewel's wing has recovered. A single day of freedom. Jewel rose up early to go enjoy the morning air. She walked up to the hollow's entrance, and breathed in deeply, watching the crimson sunrise. _Such a beautiful morni.._ Jewel's thoughts were rudely cut short by a loud snore. The blue macaw flinched, and looked back in annoyance, at her mate, which was still in deep slumber. Blu was lying on his head, and seemed to have "crawled" across the hollow in his sleep. Jewel spent some time staring in amusement before deciding to wake him up.

"Blu, get up, the sun's out."

As expected, Blu continued snoring away.

 _What was I expecting..._

Jewel sighed, and nudged Blue with her talon, in her kind of gentle.

"Get up!"

Blu shot up like a rocket, bumping his head on a low lying branch.

"Ow! I'm up! I'm up!" Blu said, while rubbing his head with a wing.

"You know, you gotta get up a little earlier than that," Jewel laughed.

"Do I have to," Blu whined.

Before Jewel could reply, a rhythm of music echoed through the jungle. The rest of the birds were up, and most enjoyed a good song in the morning.

"Come on, the song's starting!" Jewel beckoned Blu, before flying out of the hollow. Blu stretched a little, then followed Jewel out.

Not too long later, when the music died down, the couple ran into a dear friend of theirs.

"Hey Rafael!" Blu greeted, sharing a brief hug with the toucan.

"Whoa, Blu, we're in the sky!" Rafael said, returning the hug only very briefly.

"Whoops, sorry."

"It's so nice to see you again," Jewel greeted as well.

"Same as you! I see your wing healed! So the human really did help"

"Yea, it took some time, but Tulio did help," Jewel peered at her healed wing.

"Well, I was on my way to find Tiny. I'm trying to get someone to babysit my kids," Rafael said.

Blu couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Tiny? Well, someone's gonna be swarmed."

"Yea, about that..." Rafael hesitated.

"What is it?" Jewel pressed on.

The toucan hesitated some more, before finally starting to lay down his request, "Well, I promised Eva I'd show her round Nico and Pedro's new club setup today, and I really need someone to babysit my 18 kids,"

Blu sensed what was coming, and attempted to wriggle out of it, "Welllll, I wish you a good trip to.. uh.. Tiny, then! Er.. good luck?"

"I wasn't finished yet. You've made a point, Tiny would be pulverized by 18 mini hyperactive birds... So, maybe you two could take a crack at it?" Rafael continued.

Blu tried his best to hide his fear with a clumsy smile, while Jewel started hesitating a little herself.

"Come on! A baby sitter is my last chance at this!"

"Okay, okay... we'll do it. I hope you can pay for my insurance," Blu finally gave in. Jewel gave a short glance, a little peeved that Blu happily included her in it. Rafael laughed.

"Making as much sense as always Blu!" Rafael laughed, "Thanks guys! I wish you luck. You would most likely need it"

Blu and Jewel followed Rafael back to his hollow.

"Ah Eva, beautiful as ever! Are you ready to go?" Rafael asked his mate.

"Yes, I'm ready Rafi," Eva smiled at Rafael's compliment. "Who are these two?"

Rafael quickly introduced Blu and Jewel, and said that they were here to babysit the kids.

"Fear not, Blu," Rafael laughed at Blu's worried face.

"Because if you do, they will smell it, and they will exploit it. Now, for meals, give them grapes or mangoes, don't let them near any human food, and try to make them go to bed when the sun sets. Thanks again guys! Oh, and don't bring back too much food." With that, the two toucans took off, leaving Blu and Jewel with 36 peering eyes.

"So.. what would you like to do?" Jewel asked.

Mischievous looks seemed to reply her question. "Attack!" one of the little toucans yelled, causing an onslaught on the two blue macaws. Jewel and Blu didn't have much time to react, before they got overwhelmed. While most of the kids kept Blu and Jewel from getting up, 4 of the toucans brought vines and tied Blu to a nearby branch in the hollow. Jewel resisted for a moment, and almost escaped, but the 18 attackers swarmed her, and Jewel ended up being tied upside down on the ceiling.

Blu and Jewel had a brief second of silence before the kids continued their assault. The kids started irritating their babysitters in any way they can, biting, pulling, tickling and riding on their immobilized victims.

"Ow! Hey! Hahahaha, stop thahat! OW!" Blu managed to get out of his trap, and flew through the kids, trying to untie Jewel.

"Blu, get me out of here!" Jewel tried to say, while a toucan was pecking her head, with two others plucking at her feathers, and one tickling her sides.

Blu used his beak and bit the vines confining Jewel to her upside-down prison, and set her free. With all their might, Blu and Jewel scooped up as many toucans as they could in their wings, with their captives either continuing their irritating actions, or escaping. Then all together, the kids zoomed out of the hollow. "Well, glad that's over," Blu commented, trying to rearrange his disarrayed feathers. "What are you talking about? We needa get them!" Jewel said, bolting after the kids. "It's so definitely a trap.." Blu murmured, lingering behind a little.

Lucky for them, the kids were only flying around their home tree, and didn't wander off. But, as Blu thought, it was mostly a trap. Blu went around the tree, and found Jewel tangled in a few vines, getting tickled by the kids.

"Blu! Geheht them ohohof me!" Jewel gasped between her laughter. Blu laughed at Jewel's predicament, but his noise caused the toucans to stop, and look.

Blu's laughter died off, when he saw all 18 toucans looking at him. "Er.. I'll just be.. over there.." Blu said, before screaming off, with 18 toucans following closely.

After most of the morning, the toucans finally got bored of annoying their babysitters, and played among themselves. Soon, it was noon, and Jewel slipped off the get food for the kids, leaving Blu behind. Blu tried to hide himself at the entrance of the hollow, spying on Rafael's kids. "Oh.. hurry back, Jewel.." Blu murmured, when one of the kids saw him, and pointed up at the hollow.

"Blu?" Jewel came in, carrying a few bunches of grapes in her talons. "Blu where are you?" Jewel shrugged. _Knowing him, he's probably hiding somewhere._ Jewel called for the kids, and they began digging into the food Jewel brought back. _Well, they are much cuter when they aren't attacking me.._

"Jewel...?" Blu called out. The kids had stuck up onto the top of the tree, and Blu couldn't really see what was going on. "Jewel...?"

Jewel heard a faint call, and decided to go out and investigate, leaving the kids to munch on their food. Jewel looked around, before finally tracing the voice to the top of the tree. "Wha.. how did you get up here?" Jewel pried some of the branches away, allowing Blu to slip through. "They carried me up here, and shoved me into the tree top, and left me," Blu explained. Jewel chuckled at Blu's little story, and went back to the hollow to check on the kids. Blu followed close behind her, hoping to use her as a shield.

"Oh my.." Jewel said, ducking as a grape soared out from the hollow, hitting Blu. Blu wiped off the fruit, only to see a pandemonium in the hollow. The kids were having a very messy food fight with the remaining grapes.

When evening finally came, the couple used their last sparks of energy to get the kids in bed. Lucky for them, the kids were tired from such a day of "fun", and fell asleep quickly.

"Well, they are much better when they're quiet, and out of range," Blu commented. Jewel yawned.

"I can never view them as cute after all this..." The couple heard someone landing at the hollow entrance, and were relieved to finally see Rafael and Eva back. Rafael observed the house.

"Hmm, you're the first babysitters that managed to keep the house in fine shape.." Rafael chuckled.

Eva added, "Remember when we found Tiny stuck in that branch?"

Jewel and Blu looked at each other, and made a silent pact to not mention the kids' success in tying them both up. Rafael hugged the two blue macaws, and thanked them.

"Well, we should go, it's late," Blu said, and the couple left after their farewell. Eva looked around the hollow, and found a splotched grape in a corner, which Blu and Jewel had missed while cleaning up the hollow.

Rafael noticed it as well, and said, "Well, let's just hope that it was just some discarded food.."

Jewel and Blu immediately collapsed when they reached their hollow, slipping into much needed rest. It had, after all, been a very active day.


	2. The new Club

"Hurry up, Bobo!" Jewel called after her mate. Blu was panting heavily, unable to keep up with Jewel's speed. "Slow...down..." Blu tried to request between his gasps. He still wasn't too efficient at flying yet. Well, not as efficient as Jewel. Jewel laughed at Blu, before turning back to follow Blu's pace. Nico and Pedro's new club was opened, after the old one was considered to "reek of monkeys". Lucky for blue macaw couple, the new location was in the jungle, closer to their hollow, than the old club. Still, it wasn't that close either.

After (what Blu thought was) a long time, Blu and Jewel finally found a cave at the base of a waterfall. "Well they certainly picked a very nice location," Blu commented.

"Yea, I guess," Jewel agreed.

They both entered the bustling crowd already in the cave, to look for two specific birds. It didn't take too long, as Nico and Pedro were, as usual, in the spotlight. Nico was singing on an elevated piece of rock, while Pedro was using some empty coconut shells as percussion instruments. "Well, they seem busy," Blu said, observing the performers. "Come on, let's look around a little more," Jewel suggested. It was a pretty cave. There were multiple openings in the ceiling, which served as an opening for natural light, while providing a scenic view of the nearby waterfall. Some beads of water were present on the higher stalactites, making the ceiling seem shiny and bright. A few rocks stacked on one another were present at the end of the cave, serving as a makeshift stage. There was even a bird working as a barkeep, handing out fruit to the crowds. "This place is perfect for Nico and Pedro's club!" Blu said, dazed by his surroundings. "Can't agree more," Jewel said, her eyes shining as she marveled at the cave's beauty.

They were interrupted by thunderous applause and cheering. Nico and Pedro had finished their song. "Well, time to intercept those two before they get busy again," Jewel said, pushing through the crowd. Blu followed her, a little anxious about losing her in the crowd. "Oh, sorry. Excuse me. Oops," Blu apologized to the disturbed birds while Jewel continued squeezing through. They managed to find Nico and Pedro at the front of the stage.

"Blu! Jewel! Long time no see!" Nico greeted.

"Great seeing ya'll again! How've you been?" Pedro added.

"Just fine. Jewel's wing just healed," Blu said.

"Nice place you've got," Jewel commented, still admiring the cave.

Nico chuckled. "Yea, Pedro found it when he was hiding from me."

"Nope! Don't tell 'em the story!" Pedro intercepted.

"I'm curious. What happened?" Blu pressed.

"Sorry, Blu, my beak is sealed," Nico laughed.

While the group was catching up, a bird was spying them from a distance. Curious, he ventured closer to the group of birds. "Blu!" Jewel whispered, while nudging him. She signaled to behind her. Blu peeked behind her, and saw what she was referring to. A macaw caught his eye, and looked away, like nothing happened. Nico and Pedro weren't too suspicious though. "Ey, Eri!" Pedro called out. The macaw, known as Eri, flew over. "Meet Blu and Jewel," Nico gestures to the couple. "Er..hi" Eri greeted. He seemed pretty timid. "Blu, Jewel, meet Eri! He's a volunteered helper. That fruit stack over there, was collected and managed by him," Nico introduced. "Oh, hi," Blu greeted Eri "I'm Blu and I like chees.. Oh wait. Nevermind." Blu briefly forgot that birds don't know what cheese is. "Hello," Jewel greeted as well. Eri timidly smiled and nodded.

"Hey Nico! There's a new guy makin' music!" A bird informed. The group peered at the stage, and saw two yellow macaws, one was playing the makeshift drum set like Pedro was, and another was playing a kind of mini-flute. "Smooth," Pedro said, "Heh Nico, shall we join 'em?" Nico nodded, and the two flew to the stage, joining the two performers. Jewel and Blu were once again, left alone in the crowd. Eri seemed to have wandered off to continue distributing fruit. Jewel cocked her head at the music, while slowing swaying to it. She never heard a flute before, and she did like the sound. Blu, however, stood, at his spot, arguing in his head. _Come on! Ask her to dance! What if she doesn't feel like dancing?_

"Blu," Jewel laughed, after noticing him staring, "Come on," she said, inviting him for a dance. Blu smiled, and joined his mate on the dance floor. The crowds noise seemed to blank out, as the calming song from the stage echoed through the couple's hearts. The pair started dancing together in rhythm to the music.

As the song progressed, the two happened to face each other. Blue looked into Jewel's eyes, while Jewel did the same. Blu's heart pumped while he subconsciously murmured, "Your eyes are beautiful..." Jewel caught his compliment, and chuckled. "Seems like you got it right this time." Blu reddened a little, as Jewel continued looking into Blu's eyes, seemingly melting away his insecurities. As their eyes sparkled under the light from the ceiling openings, the couple pressed their beaks together in a short kiss, just when the song drew to a close. The crowd cheered wildly for their new performers and their old favourites. Blu and Jewel broke from their kiss, looking around in confusion before realizing what happened.

Nico and Pedro were on the stage, praising the two yellow macaws which performed. "You both are very skilled in setting moods!" Nico praised. "You two are off the top!" Pedro added. The two macaws thanked the duo. "Oh how rude of us. What's your names?" Nico asked . "I'm Alice and this is Aaron," the female yellow macaw introduced themselves. "Welcome to the club, Alice and Aaron!" Pedro greeted, "So, you two a couple?" The two yellow macaws seemed to blush. "Oh, no no no. We're.. Err.. Friends," Aaron said. Nico winked at Pedro. Seems like a couple needed some help.

Blu and Jewel met up with Pedro and Nico, interested to meet the two new performers. They only found Nico and one of the yellow macaws there. "Where's Pedro and the other guy?" Blk asked. Jewel shrugged. They went up to Nico, and asked about their whereabouts. "Oh, they're grabbing something to snack on from Eri," Nico said, "Hey Alice, meet Blu and Jewel. Blu and Jewel, meet Alice," Nico introduced the two blu macaws to the yellow macaw. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," Alice said. The couple returned the greeting. "Well Nico, it's getting a little late," Jewel said, noting the drop in the cave's luminousity. "Nah that can't be right," Nico said, his internal clock disagreeing with Jewel's statement. Hey flew up to one of the holes in the ceiling, and peered out. "Oh my..." Nico murmured. Blu, Jewel and Alice noticed Nico's worry and flew up to the hole as well. The silence that followed was deafening. Heavy storm clouds were gathering in the sky, much darker and larger than any cloud the birds have seen. "This could be a problem..." Alice said, breaking the silence between the group.


	3. Rain, Rain Go Away

A loud explosion of thunder echoed throughout the cave. The birds in the cave were silenced, peering out of the ceiling openings with slight dread. As they noted the darkness, the crowd began to panic, all hurriedly exiting the cave.

"Alright guys! Club is closed for today due to extreme weather, hope you can come again soon," Nico announced, urging the remaining birds out. Pedro joined in Nico's efforts, pushing off the stragglers.

"I guess this is goodbye for now, then," Jewel bid farewell to Alice and Aaron. "Yea, I guess.." Alice said, a little bummed to leave so early. "I hope to see u soon. You guys come to the club often right?" Aaron asked.

"Maybe a few times a week," Blu said, "Take care!"

With that, the two couples separated to return to their hollows.

By the time Blu and Jewel were halfway to their home, a heavy downpour started, drenching them in water. Blu started slowing down unintentionally. It was much harder to fly while he was soacked to the beak. "Come on! We're almost there!" Jewel urged, slowing down to stay beside Blu. Blu nodded in silence, and continued flapping with all his might. Soon, they arrived at their hollow, panting and gasping. Blu stood up, and shook vigorously, sending water droplets flying all over the hollow. Jewel covered her face with her wing, grunting in annoyance. "Sorry," Blu apologized, still trying to swipe the water off with his wing. "Leave it, Blu, that's not gonna work," Jewel said, but started shaking herself dry as well. Blu observed, and followed suit, getting most of the water out.

"I'm still wet all over!" Blu whined, still annoyed at his situation.

"Well, too bad, because you're stuck like that for some time to come, Jewel said, resting in a corner.

Blu noticed a slight change in her tone, and looked back at the light blue macaw. Jewel was shivering slightly, though she was hiding most of it. "Cold?" Blu asked, not sure what else to say. Jewel looked up, hesitating a little, before replying. "A little."

Blu had been raised in a cold climate for most of his life. As a result, the weather was only mildly chilly to him. Brazil was an oven compared to Minnesota. Blu edged over to Jewel, and rested beside her. To his surprise, Jewel rested her head on him. In the noise of the rain outside, Blu could still feel slight vibrations from Jewel. She was definitely freezing in the weather, though she was still stubornly refusing to admit it. Blu hesitated slightly, before putting his wing on Jewel, attempting to keep her warmer. Jewel opened an eye to his action, but welcomed it, due to its promising warmth. Blu smiled, as Jewel's shivering died down bit by bit.

"Blu, aren't you cold?" Jewel asked. She felt like a little block of ice, while Blu hardly seemed affected. "Oh, nah, this cold isn't half was chilly as it is where I came from," Blu explained.

"But Blu," Jewel chuckled a little, "Don't you come from Rio as well?"

"Yea.. But I lived most my life in Minnesota. It snows there," Blu explained.

"I've always wanted to see snow. I've only ever heard of it," Jewel said, still resting her head on Blu's neck.

"You might see it one day. With all the global warming and stuff, there's lot of freak weather."

Jewel smiled a little. "Speak in normal language, brainiac!" Jewel teased.

The two relaxed, watching the heavy rain fall outside their hollow. The couple shared a moment of silence, with the thunder seemingly echoing in the distance. Despite the fierce downpour, watching the rain from a sheltered, warm area seemed all the more calming.

As the blue macaws cuddled in the corner of the hollow, Jewel broke the silence with a little sentence.

"Blu, is it about time we had kids?"

Blu didn't exactly know how to answer, attempting to think of a logical answer.

"Ye.. Yeah.. Maybe."

In a hollow not to far from the blue macaws, sat Rafael the Toucan, putting his kids to bed, calming the ones who woke up scared at night, by the sound of the roaring thunder.

"Daddy, is the tree gonna fall?" Rafael carried his son in his wings, and rocked gently while stroking his head feathers gently. "Nah, it's been up for some time now. Don't you worry." The little toucan snuggled up against his father, smiling as he fell asleep. Eva was next to Rafael, carrying a few of her sleeping kids, keeping them warm while they slept. "You know Rafi, sometimes I think of getting more kids.." Rafael shot his head up, not sure if she was joking or not.

"Eeeer.. You can't be serious.. Right?" Rafael was a little confused.

Eva giggled at her mate's sudden unease, and calmed him down.

"18 is plenty I guess. 18 is plenty."

Meanwhile at the club, Nico and Pedro were setting up some cushioning on the stage.

"You sure tis' a good idea to sleep on the stage? Pedro queried.

"Oh come on, Pedro, this cave is cozy, and big and cozy," Nico explained, "Much better than a tree isn't it?"

Pedro layed back on a pile of twigs and leaves. "Yea, I guess you're right bout that."

Pedro looked around at the cave, and observed the rain pouring through the holes in the ceiling.

"Hey is this cave gonna be flooded?" Pedro asked, pointing at one of the larger holes. Nico didn't turn away from arranging his pile of cushioning, replying, "Nah, the water flows out through the entrance." Sure enough, the water flowed along the cave floor and out through the entrance.

"Guess you're right bout that too." Pedro said, continuing to stare at the ceiling. Nico finished preparing his pile of twigs and sticks, and fell back on it.

"You know, the size of the place makes me feel lonely," Pedro commented.

Nico nodded. "Yea, it kinda does."

Back at the blue macaws' hollow, the couple were still lying at the cosiest corner of the hollow, with Blu keeping Jewel warm. Jewel yawned, and closed her eyes. Blu yawned as well, his eyes starting to droop. "Good night, Blu," Jewel said, with her eyes slightly open. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep on Blu's shoulder. Blu smiled, and idly rubbed her head feathers as his eyes slowly closed more. Blu rested his head against the wall behind him, smiling down at his mate one last time before closing his eyes, and falling asleep.


	4. Memories

The storm was still raging outside. The rain continued its onslaught on Rio, in its own harsh manner. But, still not harsh enough to deal any severe damage. The blue macaw couple are still sound asleep in the hollow, when a loud explosion of thunder echoed through the jungle. Blu was ripped away from his dreams back to reality, jerking awake. Miraculously, Jewel was not disturbed, and continued her peaceful slumber. Blu looked around in slight panic, before calming down. As he settled against the hollow walls, Blu tried to shut his eyes and continue his sleep, but simply couldn't. As the rain continued outside, he looked at Jewel, recalling the events after he saved her.

Things were a rush afterwards. Linda and Tulio had rushed them to the Aviary, and upon arriving, Tulio tried to feed Jewel some medication to numb the pain, and send Jewel to sleep. It didn't go quickly as Jewel used her remaining fight left to resist gulping down the foul smelling liquid.

 _"Jewel, calm down, it will help."_

Blu recalled telling her that. The words echoed through him, sending slight tingles down his spine.

Jewel hesitated, before finally accepting the medicine. Within a short time, her eyes began to drop, and her breathing began to calm.

 _"Blu, I'm scared..."_

 _"Don't worry, Jewel. You will be fine after this."_

It was a nerve wrecking period of time as Blu paced around on Linda's arm, waiting for the results. Linda could clearly see her companion's unease, and tried her best to calm him down.

 _"Blu, Jewel should be okay. She will be."_

Just then, Tulio swung open the doors. Linda stood up, with Blu perched on her lower arm.

 _"I have good news and bad news. Good news is, Jewel will make a full recovery. I expect her to be flying again in 1 to 2 weeks. The bad news is, she can't fly for 1 to 2 weeks until her wing has healed."_

Blu remembered the feeling of his burdens evaporating. He signaled toward the operating room. Tulio and Linda understood, and allowed him in. Blu saw Jewel's broken wing Ina cast, with Jewel resting peacefully.

Blu smiled. Jewel had indeed made a full recovery.

As night came, Tulio and Linda let Blu accompany Jewel in the fake jungle in the aviary, while the two of them encamped themselves outside. They were going to ensure the safety of their feathered friends personally this time.

Blu smiled again, as he recalled the shock he got when Jewel awoke.

As Jewel opened her eyes, Blu was beside her.

"Jewel, how are you feeling?"

Jewel stared blankly at him, with her eyes half closed, and her head edging to the side a little. Without warning, she began laughing in his face, and then, suddenly fell back to sleep, with a new loud snore. Blu got the impression that the medication made Jewel delirious. Blu had used his wings to move her head into a comfortable position, when Jewel opened an eye.

"Bluuuuuuu..."

Blu looked at her in confusion as Jewel stretched his name.

"Why'd you name yourself after a colour? You could've called yourself Red"

Blu was indeed blushing at the moment, completely confounded by Jewel's strange comments.

"Er... Jewel? Are you alright?"

Jewel opened her mouth, seemingly to say something, but kissed Blu on the beak. Blu's heart raced as his eyes opened widely, staring at Jewel. Jewel drew back, and did a clumsy smile, with her eyes still drooped and her head still wobbly.

"I loovee you.."

After saying it, Jewel promptly fell asleep right on top of Blu. Blu had froze in utter confusion and shock at he time.

Blu chuckled as he recalled the moment. So hard to imagine a bird like Jewel acting like a total nutcase.

To Blu's relief at that moment, Jewel didn't wake up for the rest of the night. He had edged over to another corner of the fake tree hollow, just in case, and was unable to sleep as his mind still continued his excitement and confusion at the events that just unfolded.

By morning, the drug Tulio used had fully worn off, and Jewel was back to her normal slightly agitated mood.

"Blu?"

Jewel's voice had awoken him, and he sat up and looked at her. Jewel tapped her casted wing on the hollow ground.

"What's this?"

Blu had told her that it was a cast, used to keep her wing protected while it healed. Needless to say, Jewel was annoyed with it. She was finally free to fly again... Only to be captured, and have her freedom delayed again with a broken wing. Blu notices Jewel's distress, but didn't know what to say about it.

"Wait a minute..." Jewel observed her surroundings, and yelped.

"We're captured? Again?"

"What? No! Tulio patched up your wing, and until it heals, you should stay here.."

"So.. We would be released?"

Blu didn't hesitate to reply.

"Yes."

"Blu, how long will it take for my wing to heal?"

Blu hesitated that time. Jewel was going to be disappointed by his answer, and he knew it. But, what else could he say?

"Tulio said it would take 1 to 2 weeks."

He could vividly remember Jewel's face at that moment. The disappointment and frustration. Jewel sighed.

"Well, I guess the situation kinda switched. Now you can fly, and I can't."

"Hey, Jewel? Did you remember anything last night?"

Jewel thought hard, but shook her head. "Just little chunks. Something about talking to you."

Blu's eyes widened a little, and tried to hide his nervousness.

"Blu, what is if?" Jewel asked, detecting his obvious change.

"Oh! Er... Nothing...?" Blu replied, in a rather unconvincing manner.

Jewel frowned at Blu, and within a few seconds, Blu was pressured enough to tell her.

"Well... Yesterday night... You were kinda acting weird and random, and you asked a few strange questions and kissed me."

Jewel's eyes widened a little and her face turned beetroot. She looked away in slight embarrassment as she recalled doing such things.

"Aughh.. I feel like an idiot..." Jewel murmured.

 _It was just another weird and awkward day, I guess,_ Blu thought sat the present.

Blu yawned, bringing himself back from the past. He was finally ready to sleep again. Blu scooted to Jewel, and wrapped his wings around her as he tried to get some shuteye.


	5. Deep, Dark Fear

Blu blinked as he rose from his sleep. It still seemed dark.

"Oh my goodness... I woke up twice this night!" Blu hissed under his breath. There was still a light drizzle, which was likely the last of the onslaught of rain that night. Blu tried to get up, but realized Jewel was sleeping on top of him, lying horizontally across his chest. The blue macaw laid back, not wanting to disturb his mate.

"Well this is a fine situation I've got myself into..."

Blu sighed as he accepted the boredom of the next few hours before Jewel got up. Maybe this time he could surprise her, for being up earlier than her. He spent the time staring out of the hollow entrance, looking at the trees nearby, rustling slightly in the gentle drizzle.

"Gee, this is taking forever..."

Like as if the heavens started to reply to him, a hint of light creeped into the hollow.

"Finally."

While Blu was idling, Jewel on the other hand, was having a bad dream.

Well, more like a strange nightmare.

She was walking around in extreme darkness, in what seemed like a human building. Jewel could feel her heart pound faster and faster by the moment. The blue macaw wouldn't admit it, or reveal it, but she was fearful of dark areas. Especially if it wasn't in the jungle.

 _"Mommy?"_

Jewel nearly screamed out loud as she turned around, to look into the eyes of a small, red macaw.

 _"Hello? Come on, don't be scared."_

She heard herself say.

 _"I... I can't..."_

Just at the moment, a dim light faded on. The young macaw was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a disheveled cockatoo stared down at her

 _"Hello, pretty bird."_

"AARGH!"

The fear collected within Jewel exploded outward as physical action, abruptly jolting her out of the dream. She fearfully kicked and scratched at thin air, feeling someone tightly grabbing her around her torso.

"Jewel! Jewel! Calm down!" Blu squawked as he held onto Jewel, preventing her from getting up. Jewel's vision cleared as she recognized Blu's voice, and she stopped struggling.

"So..sorry.. Did I wake you?" Jewel asked, looking apologetically at her mate. Blu shook his head.

"Nah I was awake for some time now."

Jewel smiled weakly. "That's new."

"Is something wrong?" Blu asked, noticing Jewel's distant look.

"Nothing. Just a really weird dream that's all," Jewel explained. The sun had half risen, shining across the jungle with benevolent light. A faint rainbow from the dying drizzle appeared above the sunset. A pretty sunset was all that was needed to soothe Jewel's dark fears.

"What shall we do today?" Jewel asked, trying to change the subject. The last thing she needed was for Blu to notice her fears. Those needed to be buried deep down, even from close ones. Never to be seen again. Ever.

"Well, we could visit Rafael abs Eva," Blu suggested.

Jewel flinched as she remembered their last meeting with the toucan couple's kids. "Well, as long as their kids stay well away from me, I'll be okay."

The two then flew out of the hollow, toward their friend's home.

The toucan couple were having some calm before the storm started (as they woke up earlier than their mischievous kids), when Blu and Jewel showed up at their hollow.

Blu opened his mouth to greet when Rafael put a wing to his beak, and pointed to the little toucans sleeping cozily around them. Blu immediately closed his beak, and nodded. Jewel smiled as a greeting. The two tip-toed closer to the toucan couple.

"Hi guys, what brings you here?" Rafael whispered.

"Just wanted to say hi," Jewel replied.

Eva smiled, and said, "Well the last time, you two left in such a hurry, I didn't get to thank you. The kids can be a real handful."

"They are much better while asleep aren't they?" Blu chuckled softly.

Rafael chuckled along with him. "You learn fast, I suppose."

There was a moment of silence, before Rafael whispered to Blu.

"Hey Blu, I've got something to discuss. Shall we go outside?"

Blu nodded and the two left to chat, leaving Jewel with Eva.

"Hey Eva?" Jewel asked, not sure if she should raise the question about her dreams.

"Mmmhm?"

"Did you... Ever had weird dreams while you were pregnant?"

Eva smiled, and asked "Why? Are you pregnant?"

Jewel shrugged. "Well, I don't exactly know."

Eva seemed to think for a moment before replying. "Yea, at my first pregnancy, I had weird dreams all the time. Even had one where Rafi's head was a mango."

Jewel tried to stifle a laugh, not knowing if Eva was being serious or. not. Eva chuckled as well. "That was exactly my reaction when I woke up."

Outside the hollow, Rafael and Blu were discussing the two blue macaws' relationship.

"Well it's going fine so far," Blu said.

Rafael smiled. "See? You two were meant for each other!"

Rafael couldn't help but stare at the mud puddles everywhere. The rain had did its part in making a few tiny brownish lakes throughout the jungle.

"The kids are gonna be splashing in those for the whole day... Just you watch," Rafael laughed. "Eva would be driven up the wall when they bring mud into the hollow."

Blu shared the laugh with him.

"Alright then, I guess you might wanna leave soon. The kid get up around this time, and I needa find some food for them," Rafael said, "Bye Blu!"

Blu waves goodbye with his wing, and went into the hollow to fetch Jewel.

"Should we go to the club now? We could get breakfast there, and maybe even meet Alice and Aaron," Jewel suggested.

Blu nodded in agreement and they started the trip to the club. On the way however, the couple flew past an old house in the middle of nowhere. The two paused for a moment to stare at the strange sight, and were about to leave when they heard someone crying for help.

"It's coming from that old house!" Blu stated, going toward the old wreck. "Someone might be in danger!" Jewel hesitated. The dream was still vivid in her mind.

 _"Hello, pretty bird."_

Jewel shook her head, and followed her mate into the house.

As expected of an old house, it was dark and creepy. It seemed like an abandoned house, and the storm had took a damaging hit to the structure's integrity.

"This place could fall apart anytime," Blu commented, while searching around the debris for the voice. Jewel joined Blu in the search. As if in response, the cries for help grew louder. It was a child's cry.

"Help! Please!"

The couple frantically searched around the house. Nothing. Just then, Jewel found a dark stairway leading into... Somewhere. The cry for help echoed out from inside. Her heart rate continued to increase steadily. Her fear started creeping out of the grave, back to haunt her again. She found herself paralyzed at the spot.

"Bl...Blu," she weakly called out, way too soft for anyone to hear. Coincidentally, Blu flew past, and noticed the dark stairway down as well.

"Hey, the voice is coming from down here!" Blu said, flying down the stairway. Jewel started panicking as he disappeared into the darkness. She struggled with her mind for a moment before following Blu in. She found her mate trying to pull a plank away from an opening.

"What's in there?" Jewel asked, still shaky. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she noticed two small red macaws trapped behind the plank. Her mind raced as her fear tugged at her logic. Blu finally pushed the plank away, and scooped the smaller child out from the debris. He carried the macaw gently in his talons and flew out, along with the other free macaw. Jewel gave in to her mind's yelling and shot out after Blu.

 _"Hello, pretty bird."_

Her mind wouldn't stop imagining the sinister sentence as she flew out of the darkness and into the light.

She scanned the surrounding jungle, calming herself down with deep and slow breathing. Jewel spotted Blu and the two red macaws landing on the ground nearby, and went to their position.

It turned out that the 2 red macaws were playing in the house, when a plank fell from the ceiling, trapping the both of them inside a small area for around 5 minutes. After accompanying the two kids back to their parent's hollow not too far away, the blue macaws grabbed some fruit from a tree nearby and flew back home, Blu being a little shocked at the whole thing, while Jewel still feeling her head spin.

I need to tell someone about this... Jewel thought in her mind. She glanced at Blu, and decided.

Back at the hollow, while the two blue macaws were silently eating their meal, or "brunch" as Blu called it, Jewel thought it was the best time to raise the issue.

"Blu, I have something to tell you," Jewel said nervously. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Blu looked up from his fruit, about to laugh and tell her not to worry when he noticed Jewel's strange look.

"I promise."

Jewel sighed. "I.. I think I'm afraid of the dark...That house back there... Scared me out of my mind..."

Blu listened closely, not too sure how to react. Definitely not by laughing.

"Well, everyone's afraid of something. And it's fine to be afraid. Nothing to be embarrassed about," Blu said, trying to stall while he thought of something to say.

Jewel looked up, somehow feeling better already, now that someone understood. "Blu... Thanks."

Blu was a little shocked at the answer. After all, that was something he farted out while he was trying to think of something else. But it wasn't the time to show it. "You're welcome."


	6. Higher than the Blu sky

"Blu, get up. It's morning," Jewel pecked at the sleeping macaw, trying to get him awake. Blu slowly opened his eyes, flinching at the sunlight shining into the hollow.

"It's bright," Blu mumbled, shielding his eyes with a wing.

Jewel rolled her eyes. "Of course it's bright. The sun's up."

Blu propped himself up against the hollow wall, yawning as he did so.

"Why don't you go for a flight? It might help you wake up," Jewel suggested sarcastically.

Blu, in his groggy state misinterpreted the suggestion, and took at as a request to go find food.

"Okay, okay... I'll go find someone to eat," Blu said, stretching his wings, preparing to take flight.

Jewel raised an eyebrow at his response. The sun certainly rose from the wrong side of the horizon this time.

The female macaw crossed her wings, and put on a smug look.

"Alright, let's see what you bring back."

With that, Blu took off, scouring the jungles in search for food.

"Where do the fruit trees grow?" Blu wondered. He had been searching for what seemed like ages. It certainly wasn't as straight forward as he thought. Each an every tree looked the same. Trees. If he looked left, he'd see trees. If he looked right, he'd see more trees. Just as he was beginning to get a little anxious, he spotted a familiar bird picking fruit from a tree.

"Hey! Eri!" Blu called out to the bird.

Eri looked up, and waved hello to the blue macaw.

"Hi there," Blu greeted again.

Eri smiled and nodded as a reply.

 _I guess he doesn't really talk much..._

Blu glanced over at the weird fruit Eri was collecting. It was a curious blue and yellow colour, but Blu was curious to know what it was.

"What is this you're collecting?" Blu asked.

Eri smiled and murmured, "Just a little something for the club."

Blu closely observed the oddly colored fruit.

"Are you sure this is edible?"

Eri raised an eye brow at Blu. It was a common sense question among most of the birds when it came to what fruit was edible and what wasn't. Eri slowly nodded, not sure what else to say.

Blu heaved a sigh of relief. "Great! It's my first time getting food. I guess this will do," Blu said, grabbing two of the fruit. Eri's eyes widened as he noticed what Blu was doing.

"Blu, wait!"

But, Eri's cry was too soft, and Blu was already flying off.

 _Well, I guess he'll be fine. What could happen?_ Eri thought.

Halfway home, Blu felt a slight pang of thirst, and paused for a while to catch his breath.

 _It sure is hot out here..._

Blu looked down at one of the teo fruits in his talons.

 _Well, it wouldn't hurt if I took a bite._

Blu bit a chunk of the fruit and chewed it. The fruit was surprising sweet and juicy.

 _Jewel is gonna love this!_

Jewel was at the hollow peering out the entrance with slight impatience while waiting for Blu to come back. Finally, she spied the blue macaw making his way to the hollow. Jewel smiled and shook her head.

Her smile was short lived as she noticed what Blu brought back.

As Blu landed in the hollow, Jewel immediately started to probe.

"Blu! Why would you bring this type of fruit back?"

Blu was confused by her question, and shrugged.

"I met Eri picking some of these for the club. I thought I'd bring some back.

Jewel made a silent pact to have a word with the club's barkeep.

"Is it that bad? It tastes pretty good." Blu said, still not sure what as wrong.

Jewel slapped her forehead with a wing.

"You are it?"

Blu nodded, not sure where the conversation was going.

"Blu, it tastes good, but it comes at a certain price," Jewel explained. Jewel looked up, only to see Blu giving her a distant and dreamy look.

"Blu?"

Blu's pupils seemed to widen a lot, consuming most of his whites.

"What a pretty angel," he spouted out, obviously having no idea about what he was doing. He pouted his beak the best he could, making kissing noises while edging closer to Jewel.

"Er...Blu?" Jewel shifted to one side, and Blu continued edging forward, until his gave the hollow wall a big slobbery kiss. Jewel flinched in disgust, not too sure what to do.

"Come on, stop messing around!" Jewel prodded Blu on the beak with a wing. Blu lifted a clutched talon, and did a little explosive handshake, squawking in delight. He apparently thought he was fist bumping Linda.

"Come on, snap out of it!" Jewel demanded, poking him in the side of his head. Blu spun around in a daze, and stopped while facing a wall. Much to Jewel's amusement, Blu started having a chat with the wall.

"Oh you look gorgeous today, Wallie," Blu said, still facing the hollow wall.

Jewel couldn't help but find the situation mildly amusing. By her experience, the effects wore off after quite a varied time, depending on who ate the fruit. While Blu continued complimenting "Wallie", Jewel grew more and more amused at the scene.

"Aww... Is that your lovely little boy?" Blu said, bending down and talking to the small branch sticking out from the wall.

Jewel couldn't really help herself. She laughed at the situation, holding her forehead with a wing.

"This is gonna take a while," She concluded.

Miraculously, Blu turned around and stared at her in an annoyed manner, causing her amused to slowly die down to a confusion.

"How rude, Jewel!" Blu said, attempting to imitate a British accent, while over-exaggerating it way too much. Jewel widened her eyes, fully confounded at what was happening.

"Er... Sorry, I guess?" She apologized, playing along with wherever it was going.

Blu attempted to rise up to full height, but instead only succeeded in making himself look bloated.

"Such insolence must have a punishment!"

Blu smiled widely, opening his eyes just as wide, revealing the full size of his enlarged pupils. He looked like an oversized baby. Jewel laughed, completely disregarding his previous statement. While she was distracted, Blu moved toward her and tackled her onto the ground.

"Ow! Blu! Get of me!" Jewel tied to push the blue macaw off, but didn't want to use too much force just in case she harmed him in his delusional state. Without warning, Blu used his wings, and started tickling Jewel's sides, causing her to buckle.

"Blu! Whahahat are you dohohoing!" Jewel laughed, trapped under the weight of the bird while being attacked by his two wings.

Just at the moment, Nico and Pedro showed up at the hollow entrance. After all that time, they simply decided to visit the two.

Jewel spotted the two birds gaping at the scene, choked down her laughter and pushed Blu sideways. The latter responded by rolling across the room, whistling as he did so.

"Er... Hi?" Jewel greeted, attempting to ease the current awkward situation.

"Blu is high as the sky!" Pedro said, after listening to Jewel's explanation.

Nico looked at the fruit Blu took a bite out of, and shook his head.

"He sure but off quite a chunk," he commented.

"I accuse Jewel guilty for laughing at being tickled!" Blu yelled at a wall. "Five seconds in prison!"

The trio of sober birds looked at Blu briefly, before continuing their conversation.

"How long will this last?" Jewel asked.

"Judging by the amount he ate, and the fact that he never tried the stuff before..." Nico paused as he seemed to calculate the exact result. "Err... I'd say 3 hours."

Jewel was shocked. "Three hours?!"

"Three hours shall be the verdict!" Blu yelled. "Jewel, you are grounded!" He declared, turning around and pointing at Pedro.

Pedro turned to look at Blu.

"Wait.. Me?"

Blu grabbed Pedro and stared straight into his eyes. Pedro flinched a little at the sudden attack.

"Geez, your pupils are wide," Pedro said, wiggling out of Blu's flimsy grasp.

Blu gasped. "Jewel has escaped! What sorcery is this!? BLACK MAGIC!"

"I don't know if I can stand 2 and a half more hours of... This," Jewel said, gesturing to Blu.

"Well... Good luck I guess," Nico said, tipping his bottle cap.

"Hold up, some people have to stay here and help me to make up for Eri's failure to warn Blu," Jewel said, looking at Nico.

Nico started stammering, "Wha..? Wait... But.." But upon realizing That Jewel wasn't about to change her mind, he sighed and accepted his fate.

"Pedro is going to do it with me." Nico declared, dragging his friend down with him.

"Aw, do I have to?" Pedro whined. Jewel and Nico turn to stare at Pedro.

"Apparently I have to!"


	7. Anger Issues

It took ages for Blu to finally sober up. Jewel, Nico and Predro worked their tail feathers off trying to keep Blu in the hollow, and from themselves. Twice, the delirious macaw tried to get Jewel to eat the fruit that caused the problem, and he would have succeeded the second time too, if Nico didn't pull the fruit out from Jewel's mouth. That was only one of the many annoying things Blu tried. But finally, after around two hours, Blu's pupils slowly shrunk back to their normal size, and he slowly regained his sanity, painfully aware of what he did while he was "unleashed".

"My head still hurts after all this," Blu complained, massaging his forehead with a wing. He stopped when he noticed Jewel's angry face.

"Heheh.. er... Nah.. it doesn't... hurt that much."

Jewel seemed to let out a sigh, realizing she scared Blu. "No, I'm not angry at you," Jewel said. She thought for a moment, thinking of someone or something to direct her bottled anger at. It didn't take her too long.

"Is Eri at the club? I need to have a nice word with him," Jewel asked in a menacingly slow way, glancing at Nico and Pedro. The duo sensed her aura, and didn't hesitate too long.

"Yea, he's probably there by now," Pedro confirmed.

Jewel smiled.

"Good."

With that, she left the hollow.

"Oh boy, Eri is going to lose his collarbone," Blu commented, already imaging Eri getting beaten up.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Nico disagreed, "Eri is very, very slippery."

"Should we follow the Hotwing to the club?" Pedro asked.

Blu shrugged. Jewel's wrath was not something to stay close to.

"Well, we better spy from somewhere. He might... get hurt," Blu finally decided.

The three birds then took off after Jewel.

Meanwhile at the club, Jewel was sieving through the visitors for one target. Her eyes scanned through the crowds, searching for her target, ready to unleash her fury. Jewel had to restrain Blu for more than two hours, and she blamed Eri for not telling Blu the consequence of eating the fruit. And there he was, leaning against a stack of fruit. Jewel walked up towards Eri, planning on dragging him out. But the club barkeep had a keen eye, and spotted Jewel silently storming toward him. Eri hesitated, not too sure whether to run or stay. He decided to stay, to see how things played out.

"Mind if you follow me out for a moment? I have something to discuss," Jewel requested, shielding her anger away, and saving it for later.

Eri nodded, detecting something off about Jewel. _She's definitely not in a good mood..._

After the two got out of the cave, Jewel seemed to have knocked down the barrier between her anger and Eri.

"You _let_ Blu eat those fruits?" Jewel asked in her own menacing tone.

Eri gulped silently, preparing to make a run for it. He technically "tried" to warn Blu. And.. he technically didn't try, depending on who perceived the situation.

"You have _nothing_ to say?" Jewel asked again, taking a step closer.

Eri took a step back.

Jewel shook her head at his response.  
"I had to babysit Blu for two hours. _Two hours!_ " Jewel screeched, causing Eri to step back again.

"Come here you!"

Jewel swiped at Eri, but the later ducked with equal speed. Jewel lashed out a few more times, with her target dodging them with quick succession, before turning around and bolting off into the jungle.

" _Oh no you're not getting away that easy!_ " Jewel shot after him in hot pursuit, intent on getting some revenge.

Meanwhile from a safer distance (than Eri), a certain trio of birds were spying at the scene.

"Wow, that was amazing," Blu commented, wowed at Eri's display of agility.

"What did I tell ya?" Nico laughed.

"Since when did you know about Eri's.. abilities?" Pedro inquired.

"I have my ways," Nico winked.

The birds followed Jewel, interested in seeing more action.

Eri, however, wasn't having as much fun. He stayed hidden in an empty hollow, hoping for Jewel to lose interest and forget about it. But Jewel was... Jewel.

"Show yourself!"

Eri squeezed more into the cramped hollow, hoping to avoid detection. Jewel knew he was around the area, but didn't know exactly where. And she was looking into every possible hiding spot for him. It didn't take long.

"Aha!" Jewel spotted the barkeep crouched in a corner of a hollow, and attempted to lunge after him. However, while the hollow was narrow, it certainly had a higher ceiling. Eri jumped up, once again avoiding Jewel, and shot upwards and squeezed through another opening. Jewel attempted to follow, but the opening was too narrow for her, and she got stuck. Jewel grumbled as she wriggled herself free, and continued chasing Eri.

While the pursuer was stronger and determined, Eri was sleeker and surprisingly swifter than Jewel. Which was rare, as Jewel wasn't known for slowness.

"Wow, Rafael has to know this," Nico laughed as the cat and mouse flew from sight.

"Let's catch up before we lose them," Blu said, flying after them.

"Hey... wait up!" Pedro panted, catching up with Nico and Blu. Following a high speed chase had been pretty consuming to him.

The chase went on for such a long time, that Blu, Nico and Pedro eventually gave up following, and rested at the club. It was already evening at the time. As the three entered the club, Blu noticed someone leaning against the pile of fruits in the corner.

"Er... guys? Isn't that Eri?" Blu pointed out.

Indeed it was. The very same bird, handing out fruit like as if nothing ever happened. He didn't even look that tired. Just a little nervous. More nervous than usual.

Nico and Pedro couldn't help but laugh. Jewel could be anywhere by now, and Eri was just chilling back at the club.

Not too long later, a tired Jewel hauled herself into the club.

"Oh...My... God..." She heaved, "He...is much faster... than I... thought..."

Jewel paused for a while to catch her breath.

"I need... a drink," she said, and turned toward the stack of fruits.

All Blu could say about it, is that her face was completely priceless.

Her beak gaped open while her eyes widened into round, white dishes. Nico and Pedro burst out laughing again. Jewel groaned and lied down on the ground.

"I'm gonna just sleep here," she groaned, still not believing that Eri had tricked her, and got past her all the way back to the club. And left her to circle around the jungle at high speed.

The group laughed, except Jewel of course.

"Cheer up, you might get him next time," Blu said, petting her on the back as she laid face down on the floor.

"Jewel?"

As it turned out, she fell asleep right there on the cold, hard cave floor.

"Er... now what?"


	8. Just another day in the jungle

Blu groaned as he opened his eyes, feeling fully refreshed. He walked to the hollow entrance, and peered out. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed the generous rays of light.

It was already nearing noon, and Jewel hadn't forced him up yet. Blu turned around, and saw Jewel still sleeping, with a wing over her head. It seems like the chase she did yesterday drained her completely. Blu smiled as he thought of her panting and walking into the club. And her face when she saw that Eri had been there the whole time.

 _I wonder if she'll pull another face if I wake her up._

Blu put on a mischievous smile, and moved up to her.

"Hey Jewel, get up," He said, poking her wing.

Jewel groaned and mumbled something, shifting a little. Blu snickered a little. The tables really did turn this time. He wondered what way he should use to get Jewel up. He grinned evilly as he thought of the perfect, and most annoying way. Jewel happened to be curled up in a ball, exposing most of her side. Blu used both his wings, and tickled her right there.

His victim twitched in response, and Blu could hear her muffled giggling under her wing. Soon, Jewel twisted, and shot up, only to be tickled by Blu on both sides.

"Hahaha, alright! I'm up! I ahaham up!" Jewel laughed, trying to wriggle away. Blu laughed as well, and stopped.

"Did you really have to wake me up like that?" Jewel asked, rubbing her eye.

Blu laughed more, and replied. "After a those times you woke me up, yeah."

Jewel grumbled under her breath. Of all the things she could have been, she had to be ticklish.

"I'm starving," Jewel said, hearing a light grumble from her stomach as well.

"Should I go get something?" Blu asked.

Jewel recalled Blu yesterday. He had brought back a wrong type of fruit, ate some of it, and became delirious for the next few hours.

"Nuh uh. You will be following me to find food," Jewel said. It was about time he learned.

Meanwhile, a few trees away from the two blue macaws, another pair of birds were picking fruit.

"Which one shall we get?"

"I don't know, they all look the same to me."

"Naw, look, that one has a giant brown stain on it."

"Well, that's the odd one out, there's many others."

As the two bickered among themselves, one of them spotted two familiar looking macaws approaching.

"Hey ain't that Blu and Jewel?"

"Yep, it is.

"Hey, let's give them a little surprise!"

With that, the birds flew upwards to hide above the tree's dense leaves.

Their approaching victims had no clue of the awaiting ambush, and got close to the fruit tree.

"See this Blu? This, is an edible fruit," Jewel said, grabbing one of the mangoes from a nearby branch.

Blu.

At that moment, the ambushes dropped from above, and landed on a branch right in front of the two blue macaws.

"BOO."

Blu screamed out and flew back a little. Jewel got shocked, but instead of running, chucked the fruit in her talon right into the face of one of the ambushers.

Splotch!

"Aw.. My feathers..."

Jewel gasped, and apologized, realizing who the two yellow macaws were.

"Oh my... Sorry Aaron..."

Blu, dismissing the threat flew closer.

"Alice! Aaron! So good to finally see you two!" Blu exclaimed, completely ignoring the awkward fact that Jewel chucked a fruit at Aaron's face.

Aaron extended his tongue, and tried to lick the pieces of mango off his face.

"Ew," Alice edged a little away from Aaron.

Aaron ended up swiping off the fruit from his face.

"Sorry for interrupting your afternoon, how are you?" Aaron asked, licking some bits of mango off his wing.

"We're good," Blu said.

"Good thing you asked today. It would've been a different story yesterday," Jewel laughed.

"Oo, what happened?" Alice asked, interested in knowing.

Jewel went over the incident of Blu going nuts, and most of his crazy stunts. The group shared a good laugh, while Blu shook his head with a smile.

"Jewel, you forgot what happened next," Blu said. He then revealed the story of Jewel's failed attempt to catch Eri, with Jewel blushing slightly from it.

"She even slept in the club," Blu laughed.

"Well, technically it all happened because of Eri," Jewel whined. "He was... Fast."

The group laughed again, including Jewel.

"Anything interesting happen to you guys?" Jewel asked.

Aaron and Alice shook their heads.

"Sorry, our days aren't as exciting," Aaron laughed.

"Well, we best be headed back for now," Alice said, grabbing two mangoes from the tree. The two pairs departed for their respective homes.

After Blu and Jewel had their meal, they settled in the hollow, resting together.

"Gee, I feel really tired again," Jewel said, rubbing the sides of her head.

Blu smiled. "I didn't know that chase could tire you for such a long time."

Jewel flicked Blu's beak, and smiled as well, "At least I wasn't kissing a wall yesterday."

The couple shared a moment of silence.

"What do you feel like doing now?" Blu asked.

"I'm not so sure. I might just take a nap though," Jewel said. Blu glanced at her. It wasn't really like Jewel to take afternoon naps. Jewel laid back against the hollow wall, staring out of the hollow. It was late afternoon, and many birds were still flying about.

"Maybe we can visit the aviary," Jewel suggested.

"Good idea, I haven't seen Linda in a while," Blu agreed. As he extended his wings to prepare to fly out, Jewel coughed hard a few times, and groaned. Blu turned back, a little worried. Jewel slouched a little against the hollow wall.

"Ugh. My head," she groaned, massaging the sides of her head with her two wings. Blu edged closer, and gently placed a wing on Jewel's forehead.

"Blu? What are you doing?" Jewel asked, with a rather throaty voice.

Blu could feel a slight radiation of heat with his wing from Jewel.

"Jewel, I think you're falling sick..."


	9. The heart of the Aviary

Blu was soaring through the skies towards Tulio's aviary, while holding Jewel in his talons.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Blu said, worrying about Jewel's well being. As far as he knew, Jewel had some sort of fever. Jewel coughed a few times, each one sounding throaty and muffled.

"Jewel, don't choke down your coughing, it's meant to expel impurities," Blu said, only thinking of all the germs that Jewel was trapping in her throat.

Even with her sickness, Jewel managed a weak laugh. She had no idea what he was saying.

Soon enough, Blu reached the aviary, and hovered outside the door. He pecked at the door, trying to attract attention.

 _Knock, knock, knock, knock..._

With each and every knock, Blu got more and more anxious. He was thinking about trying to twist the door knob when Fernando opened the door. Blu squawked, and flew over Fernando, entering the aviary's medical department.

"Blu?" Fernando was a little shocked at the sudden appearance of the two blue macaws. Luckily for them, Tulio was in the medical department, feeding a bird, whose leg was in a cast.

Blu gently placed Jewel on the table near Tulio, and scoured around looking for writing materials. Their human friend, in the meantime looked at them, and noticed that someone was off about Jewel. He stroked Jewel's head feathers, and found out the problem. Blu, on the other hand, got his talons on a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled on a piece of paper.

 _Jewel has a fever and a cough._

All this time Jewel sat at the same spot, looking around at all the birds around.

"There are a lot of injured birds around here isn't it?" Jewel asked, her voice deeper and rougher than usual.

"Yea, there sure are," Blu said, staying beside her. Tulio left for a moment, and brought back some liquid medication, and carefully poured a pinkish liquid onto a small spoon. Jewel looked a little disgusted, figuring that she had to drink it.

"Oh come on, it's just a little medicine, it won't hurt," Blu said. It definitely wasn't the first time he had to convince her to drink medicine. Strange, how just a few weeks ago, Linda had to do the same to him. Tulio held the spoon closer to Jewel's beak, and she looked at it briefly, before sipping it from the spoon.

"You'll just need lots of water and rest, and you'll be back in no time," Tulio said. "Maybe you'd like to stay in the aviary for now?"

Blu peered out a window. It was getting dark soon. They'd need a place to stay over for the night.

Blu nodded, showing his agreement. Jewel, on the other hand, was a little annoyed. The fake jungle was a very irritating place to her. But she didn't really have the strength to start arguing. Tulio gently lifted Jewel with two hands, and brought them into the man-made jungle. He placed them on the ground, and left them to be. But, he couldn't resist spying at the two birds, and entered the monitoring room. The bird specialist picked put his phone from his pocket and failed a number.

"Hey Linda? Blu and Jewel are at the aviary."

Meanwhile, the two macaws were resting in the fake jungle. Jewel observed her surroundings. The lights were dimming to simulate the evening light. Blu was next to her, staying quiet and waiting for her reaction.

"This is the one sick day I had with the most fuss over me," Jewel finally commented.

Blu wasn't too sure whether that was good or bad, and decided that it was neutral.

"Are you comfortable here?" Blu asked.

Jewel shrugged. "Well, I've been here for one and a half weeks straight before. It can't be that bad to stay for the night."

Blu was still a little surprised that she didn't seem to like the fake jungle. After all, she wasn't a captive now, and her hostility towards Tulio had pretty much evaporated.

The noise of coughing brought Blu out of his thoughts. Jewel's coughing. Blu patted her on the back, causing her to cough again.

Blu retracted his wing, not expecting to incite a cough. Jewel cleared her throat, and rubbed her forehead with a wing. Blu edged closer, and wrapped his wings around her. Jewel welcomed the new comfort, and rested on his shoulder.

"Well, according to the previous tapes, I think Blu and Jewel were fighting, and not mating that time," Tulio told Linda, who rushed over upon receiving the news that the two blue macaws had arrived at the aviary.

"They've soothed their differences pretty quickly if that were true," Linda said, observing the two blue macaws through a few screens. Just a few weeks ago, they were strangers, and Jewel probably attacked him. Now, they were cuddling right there, like none of that ever happened. Fernando entered the observation room, and greeted his adoptive parents before joining them. Tulio excused himself. He had to return to treating the other birds. Fernando settled down at Tulio's former position, but his elbow accidentally hit a button on the control panel.

Meanwhile in the fake jungle, while Blu and Jewel were preparing to get some rest, a disco ball dropped from the ceiling, and the lights dimmed down, with a corny love song following close behind

"Say you... Say me..."

The two blue macaws turned, and looked funny at the disco ball.

"Gee, that's just random," Jewel said, turning away from the intrusion.

Blu recalled the first time they heard the song. With Jewel knocking him off a tree and all.

"Remember when we first met?" Blu asked.

Jewel did remember. It was right here, and Blu had misunderstood her intentions, and tried some funny junk. Then she beat him up.

Jewel chuckled a little, but the action caused an itch in her throat, and in turn made Jewel cough a few times.

Back at the control panel, Fernando and Linda were trying to stop the disco ball.

"That's not right. Try that one," Linda said. Fernando pressed the button she gestured at.

In the fake jungle, a fruit dropped from an opening in the ceiling. Blu picked up the fruit.

"An apple. Do you want it, Jewel?" Blu asked, still holding the fruit in his talon.

Jewel shook her head. "Nah I don't have an appetite now."

Just then, an orange rolled across the floor, followed by a pear and a few grapes.

"What's going on?" Blu asked, staring in confusion at the fruits.

"No... That isn't it," Linda was still trying to stop disco ball, and Fernando seemed to have opened some sort of feeding hatch. The boy recalled which button he pressed, and pushed it, closing the feeding hatch.

"Which button have we not tried?" He asked, pushing another random button. Not knowingly, he had activated a loudspeaker temporarily.

"Let's try that one."

Blu and Jewel peered around in response to the new sounds.

"This is one interesting place to sleep," Jewel said.

"No, no this one doesn't seem to do anything," a voice echoed through he jungle.

Blu chuckled. It was Linda. He'd recognize her voice anywhere.

"I got it!"

The disco ball retracted into the ceiling, and the music stopped.

"Hey... The loudspeaker is on, turn it off."

A buzz was heard as the loudspeaker was deactivated, leaving the two macaws in silence again.

"Should I go see what's wrong?" Blu asked.

Jewel shook her head, while still leaning on Blu.

"Don't go."

Blu obeyed, and stayed. He gently stroked the back of Jewel's head with a wing, while his other wing remained wrapped around her. Jewel smiled gently as she closed her eyes.

"Get well soon, Jewel," Blu murmured.


	10. An Unexpected Surprise

"Ow!"

Blu shot up from sleep as a grape splattered across his body. Blu rubbed off the pieces of fruit, grumbling as he did so.

 _What a way to start the morning._

Just as he finished wiping off the fruits, he heard some rumbling from above, and looked up.

"AUGH!"

The shocked macaw tried to escape, but the rain of fruits hit him anyway. Blu stared at his ruined feathers, which were caked in pieces of fruit, and wet with juices. A buzz was heard as the culprit turned on the loudspeakers.

"Sorry Blu..."

Linda had wanted to drop in a fruit or two, but forgot to close the hatch in time. Blu scooted over to Jewel, who miraculously wasn't hit by anything. She was still sleeping, with a wing over her head to block out the light. Blu turned to walk away, but his talons were caked with fruit.

 _Squelch_

Jewel groaned, and shifted a little, causing Blu to flinch. He carefully took another step, only to produce the same noise.

 _Squish_

Blu slowly turned around, but luckily, Jewel didn't stir. Or so he thought. As he turned to take another step, Jewel rolled, much to Blu's dismay, face-first into a squashed mango. Blu screamed silently, expecting Jewel to wake up. Incredibly, she didn't, and continued to sleep right there, with her face in a fruit. Blu looked in minor amazement at her ability to stay asleep, before waddling away to clean himself in the rather small artificial river.

While he was doing so, Jewel woke up, spluttering. She used a wing to rub her eye, but felt a slimy intrusion on her face. She frowned, a wiped a little off. Her vision cleared, and she noticed that she had her face in a squashed mango on the floor.

"Oh great..."

She made her way to the artificial stream as well, wanting to wipe off the fruit. Blu saw her stumbling toward the stream, with some bits of mango stuck on one side of her face.

"Morning, Honey. You seem to have a little something on your face," Blu ttered chuckled.

"Yeah, I noticed," Jewel said, stepping into the water, and splashing some on her face to cleanse herself.

"How are you feeling?" Blu inquired about Jewel's health.

"I feel better already. But I still have a bit of a stomachache," she replied, washing off the last of the mango.

"You hungry?" Blu asked. After all, breakfast was scattered throughout the floor, he can't possible pick a "bad" fruit.

Jewel flew out of the stream, and shook herself dry. "Well, I didn't eat anything yesterday night, might as well eat something now."

She flew off, in search of a fruit that wasn't squashed beyond harder apples and oranges didn't splatter when they dropped, and she found one of each that seemed to be in fine condition. She brought the two over to the stream where Blu was, washing away the last of the fruit from his body.

"I found two which seem fine to me. Which one would you want?"

Blu climbed out of the artificial river, and replied.

"What do you feel like trying?"

Jewel peered at the two fruits and shrugged.

"A little of both, I guess."

Blu suggested that they split both fruits into half. That way, they could both try both of the fruits. As they enjoyed their meal, Jewel felt a sharp pain in her torso, and flinched.

"Jewel? What's wrong?" Blu asked, dropping the apple he was holding.

"My stomach hurts," she groaned, grabbing her torso with both wings.

"Lets go see Tulio, he'll know what to do."

The moment Tulio heard that Jewel was having a stomachache, he swiftly, but gently lifted her and brought her into a small xray room.

Blu looked in confusion.

 _Is it that bad?_

Tulio scanned Jewel, and looked at the results on a computer screen.

Blu felt a little anxious about Jewel's health. What could be so serious that she needed an xray?

 _Please don't be a tumor..._

Jewel, on the other hand, was rolling her eyes at the situation.

 _Fussing so much over a stomachache. This is so Blu. And Tulio._

Tulio seemed to smile at the screen.

"Jewel, congratulations, you're pregnant with 3 eggs."


	11. Young Love

"Careful! Careful!" Blu escorted Jewel with both his wings at the entrance of their hollow in the jungle. Jewel rolled her eyes.

"You know, you're scarier than me when you're acting this way, " Jewel huffed, getting a little annoyed.

"Sorry," Blu apologized.

The very moment Jewel stepped into the hollow, a small spider dropped onto her shoulder.

"SPIDER!" Blu yelled, slapping the tiny arachnid off her. Jewel, who had jumped at the racket, turned to stare at Blu, with her "I'm-annoyed-and-you-know-it" look.

"Sorry," Blu apologized again.

"It isn't an apology unless you mean it," Jewel commented, crossing her wings. "Just calm down, what could go wrong?"

"That is the formula for accidents!" Blu insisted.

Jewel was slightly amused by his statement.

 _Only one way I know of to cure his paranoia for now._

Jewel leaned forward, and kissed Blu for a moment. Blu, who got shocked for a moment, accepted the move, and calmed down. The kiss continued for a moment, until she was sure he'd think straight for the night, and broke off.

"It'll be fine, Blu," she said in a softer tone, stroking his cheek with a wing.

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied.

A whistle was heard and the two macaws turned to face the sound. Nico, Pedro and Rafael wanted to visit, and walked in on their kiss.

"How are my favorite lovebirds doing?" Rafael asked, giving the two macaws a big hug.

"Jewel is pregnant," Blu replied.

Rafael laughed.

"About time!" He boomed. "Congratulations!"

"Aw just in time! Did we mentioned that we got Alice and Aaron dating?" Nico said, joining in the celebration.

"That's expected. They're meant for each other," Jewel said.

"Do you know how many eggs you havin'?" Pedro asked.

"Well, Tulio said that she was pregnant with 3 eggs," Blu recalled. It was the statement that had made his day, for many of his days to come.

"Still doesn't beat the time Eva was pregnant with 4 eggs," Rafael chuckled.

"Say, we're headed to the club, wanna tag along?" Nico invited.

Blu looked past the visitors, and saw that it was still rather bright out.

"Okay, if Jewel is up to it," Blu accepted.

"Sure, there's nothing else to tend to now anyways," she agreed.

With that, the group flew off to Nico and Pedro's club.

It took some time, but the group of five birds finally made it to the club.

The cave was as good as always, still sparkling with beauty after the days of use. Nico and Pedro flew in first, and headed to the stage.

"In honor of some friends, we'll be singing some songs!" Nico announced. With that, Nico posted himself at the fruit shell drums and Pedro stepped into the limelight.

Within a few drum hits, Pedro started his singing. It was a familiar song to the blue macaw couple.

 _"Giddigddigddigiddigiddigiddi girl, gi-gidi-gi-giddi girl!"_

The crowd cheered at the adventurous music, and many couples hit the floor with wild dances. Rafael joined the crowd, fading into the numerous guests.

"Hey, look there!" Blu said, pointing to a corner, where the fruit pile was. Alice and Aaron were dancing nearby, while Eri was watching.

"Shall we meet them?" Jewel asked.

"Let's go!"

It took some time to squeeze through the crowd, but they finally managed to get through.

"Hey Alice! Hey Aaron!" The blue macaws called out, the dancing yellow macaws paused for a while, and turned to face them.

"Er... Guys?" Jewel asked, noticing their dazed faces and giant pupils.

 _They must have eaten that fruit,_ Jewel thought.

"Gee, are you okay? You look drunk," Blu said, moving a little closer to observe them. The yellow macaws turned to face him, and cried out, "Bluuueee!" With that one loud cry, the yellow macaws unexpectedly grabbed Blu to dance with them. Their victim squawked in shock, and was spun and thrown up and down in the delirious couple's crazy dancing.

"Help me!" Blu cried, while being spun upside down in the air.

Jewel laughed at the scene, but remembered Eri. She hadn't gotten back at him yet. Eri was distracted by the amusing scene as well, and din't notice Jewel.

 _Now's my chance._

Jewel snuck behind him, and clawed off a small amount of one of the weirdly coloured fruit.

"Eat this!" Jewel screamed, as she shoved the bite sized chunk into Eri's mouth. Eri swallowed the fruit, and jumped in shock, staring at Jewel.

"Wha..what did I just eat?" he asked timidly. Jewel laughed evilly.

"You shall see," she said, winking. Eri gulped as his taste buds registered the sweet and pleasant, yet forbidding taste of the fruit he ate.

Eri screamed a little, and tried to vomit out the fruit, but to no avail. Jewel laughed at the nervous wreck, glad to have finally got him back.

"Jewel!" Blu cried, trying to escape as Alice and Aaron dragged him around the ground holding his legs. Jewel smiled, and flew to him.

Time to help Blu out of his mess.

Just as Jewel was about to help, the yellow macaws finally snapped out of their craziness and stopped.

Aaron chuckled, and helped Blu up.

"Heheh, sorry about all that," he laughed.

"Woo hoo! I've never felt so alive! Let's try that again!" Alice suggested.

Blu and Jewel stared at the couple, dumbfounded that they could enjoy going nuts.

"Aw, don't give that look, try some yourselves, you might like it!" Aaron suggested.

"Yeah, Eri hands out just the right amounts," Alice said, turning to the pile of fruits.

Jewel chuckled a little.

"About Eri, I was finally able to get even," she said. The moment Jewel finished, the pair of couples saw Eri sitting on the pile of fruits, randomly throwing fruit at the audiences while laughing at them. The group was stupefied at Eri's new behavior, all except Jewel, who was still enjoying her little revenge.

Her enjoyment was shortened by a splat. Apparently Eri had thrown a grape at her. Jewel gasped at her ruined feathers, while the rest laughed.

"What instant karma!" Aaron commented.

"Eri!" Jewel yelled, charging at the delusional barkeep. Eri laughed, and shot off with some fruits in his arms, still hurling some towards Jewel as he ran.

Blu, Aaron and Alice laughed, until Blu sharply recalled that Jewel was pregnant. Blu screamed as he ran after his mate.

"Wait! Jewel! Watch out!"

The yellow macaws left laughed at the trio running around, with Eri laughing and chucking fruit everywhere, Jewel billowing steam as she followed in hot pursuit, and then there's the paranoid Blu chasing after her.

It didn't take long for Blu to finally calm down a huffing Jewel, while Eri continued running around and laughing and singing.

The sound of cheering distracted the couple. Pedro had finished with his round of songs. It was time for Nico to shine.

A string instrument's calming tunes echoed through the cave. Nico whistled his tune, familiar to many a couple.

 _"Wasn't really thinking, wasn't looking, wasn't really searching for an answer..."_

The gentle music encouraged the couples in the club to share a dance.

"I remember this song," Jewel said.

Blu smiled as he recalled the first time he heard it.

He held out a wing, inviting Jewel for a dance for the first time in his life. Jewel smiled, and held his wing, accepting his invitation. The two engaged in a slow, and serene dance, spinning in circles smoothly. The surrounding crowd backed away a little forming a circle around the macaws, intent on spectating the two. Blu and Jewel hardly noticed, only focusing on each other. As the song progressed, the two macaws continued their dance, mirroring each other's moves, their eyes locked at each other.

As the song drew to a close, Blu and Jewel moved closer to each other, and pressed their beaks together in a passionate kiss. The crowds everywhere cheered, some for Nico, some for Blu and Jewel. As Nico observed the small ring of cheering audiences around Blu and Jewel from the stage, he smiled.

"Congratulations, lovebirds," he murmured.


	12. Monkeying Around

"Well, good thing that old tree still has fruits on it," Jewel commented, inspecting a mango Blu had brought back. Jewel had pushed Blu into getting food on his own again, but instead of searching, he simply returned to the tree where Jewel had shown him. And Jewel found out without even trying.

"How did you know?" Blu asked.

"Blu, it's like one of the few mango trees around here. Where else could it have come from?" Jewel asked in return.

"Well at least I know how to find one tree," Blu said.

"As I mentioned, I'm surprised that tree wasn't devoid of fruit yet," Jewel retorted. "You'll need a few more trees committed to memory if you're gonna do it that way.

"What! Then how do you do it without remembering where each tree is?" Blu whined, a little annoyed that Jewel didn't tell him sooner.

"It is the matter of finding your way around. I literally just search around for a fruit tree," Jewel said. "There really isn't much to say."

 _Must be some kind of survival instinct..._ Blu grumbled in his head.

The two settled down for a quiet meal, but halfway through a pebble flew from outside the hollow, and barely missed Blu's face. The two looked up in shock, and stared outside the hollow.

"Stay here," Blu told Jewel, and carefully moved to the entrance. Jewel watched as he slowly peeked out the hollow. Blu yelped and ducked as another pebble flew in.

"Who's throwing those?" Jewel asked, wanting to see for herself.

"Jewel, don't get close to the entrance! It's some marmosets!" Indeed, there were three marmosets outside, hurling stones into the hollow.

Two more rocks shot in, harmlessly hitting the wall.

"Maybe we should go out and have a friendly discussion with them," Jewel suggested, intent on attacking the intruders.

"I am not so sure if they came to do that," Blu replied, misinterpreting Jewel's suggestion. Jewel rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'll just go anyway," she said, flying out the hollow. Two pebbles narrowly missed her as she exited.

"Jewel! Be careful! You're carrying three extra lives!" Blu said, rushing after her.

But by the time he got out, Jewel had already finished the marmosets, and the three were either dazed, or lying on the ground.

"Wow, that was fast," Blu said, looking at Jewel's victims.

"That was weak," Jewel scowled, expecting more of a fight. "i literally landing on them, and they all fell over."

"Oh good," Blu said.

"Maybe they're here for revenge. Should we check if Rafael is ok?" Jewel asked.

"Yeah, just in case," Blu said. The couple then flew off towards their friend's hollow.

Meanwhile, Rafael and his family was surrounded by marmosets. A total of seven of them.

"Oh come on, what's the matter now?" Rafael asked, not scared at all. The last time he saw his opponents, they were very sloppy when it came to combat.

"We, are gonna drag you to our domain!" One of the attackers declared. The toucan family and the marmosets locked themselves in a deadly stare...

...and then Rafael's 18 children attacked them.

The little toucans pecked, bit, pinched and pushed the marmosets, causing them to go into a panic. One tried to escape, but was dragged back by Eva.

"Oh no, you don't get away that easy!" The angry female yelled, and threw him back into the one-sided fight between the marmosets and her kids.

The kids rounded them all into one big pile, and pushed them all at the entrance. Desperate to prevent their fall, some of the marmosets grabbed onto the hollow entrance's rim. Rafael and Eva smugly walked over, and gave each of their hands a well placed step. Soon, all seven intruders were expelled.

"Maybe think twice about setting foot here ever again!" Rafael shouted after them.

Blu and Jewel saw the scene from afar.

"Gee, seems like Rafael won already," Blu laughed.

Jewel shook her head, smiling. "I almost pity the poor buggers. They probably knew nothing about his eighteen secret weapons."

The two landed outside Rafael's hollow, only to be jumped by the secret weapons.

"Hey, hey! Back off from them!" Eva said, shooing them from the shocked blue macaws. The kids dispersed, and continued playing among themselves.

"Good to see you two!" Rafael welcomed.

"Did you see those marmosets?" He asked shortly after.

"Yeah, we saw them falling from your hollow," Blu said, chuckling.

"Sometimes, it pays to have kids like that," Rafael shared the laugh.

"Shouldn't Mauro be leading the attacks?" Jewel asked.

Rafael, Blu and Jewel gasped as they realized where the full force of the marmosets were.

"Nico and Pedro!"

Meanwhile at the club, the club-goers, along with Nico, Pedro were tied up against a stalactite. The attackers had a tactical edge when they attacked from the ceiling. There were not enough birds at the club to fight back, and the defenders were overwhelmed.

"You guys attacked us, and you want revenge for?" Pedro inquired rudely, glaring at King Mauro. The brown marmoset laughed, and pointed a finger at Pedro.

"You have a big mouth for someone in your situation!" The King commented, flicking Pedro's beak, and laughed.

Just when Pedro was going to talk back, a nut hit Mauro's head. The marmoset spun in a daze, and fell to the floor, unconscious. The crowd of marmosets soon turned into an outrage. Then, one spotted the culprit. Eri gulped, as the multitude of eyes turned toward him.

"After him!" Someone shouted, and all together, the whole cave's marmosets chased after the barkeep, of course except Mauro. Eri screamed, and rushed off, with the attackers charging after him.

"If he can circle back, then he just saved us all," Nico said,

"He already did."

Nico and Pedro looked up, and saw Rafael biting at the vines holding the pair.

"Rafi!" The two shouted in unison.

"Blu and Jewel are here too. They're untying the rest," Rafael said, finally undoing the restraints. With all the birds untied, they were pondering about what to do next when Mauro groaned. Nico looked at the unconscious marmoset leader, and came up with a plan.

"Somebody's gonna get wet!" Nico laughed.

The birds placed Mauro on a log drifting down the river. Following the stream, he'd flow straight into the medium waterfall next to the club. Just as he was at the edge, Pedro splashed water onto the marmoset's face.

"Huh?" Mauro snapped awake, only to see his predicament.

"Enjoy your swim!" Pedro said, and flew off.

Mauro looked at the edge, and screamed, and used his hands to try to paddle away. A futile effort.

The birds cheered at his scream as he fell off the waterfall.

"You think he's hurt?" Blu asked.

"Nah, it isn't high enough, Let's hope he learns from this and doesn't try this again," Jewel replied.

"Best punishment, ever!" Nico and Pedro did a high five in the air. The rest of the birds mostly dispersed and went home.

"Well, this attack was more random, than threatening," Rafael said, still looking bored. "He doesn't plan ahead. What was he gonna do after he tied everybody in the club anyway?"

Blu shrugged. "Beats me."

"Well, where's Eri? I wanted to thank him for the save," Nico laughed. He stopped when he realized the group had no idea.

"Yeah, where is Eri?"


	13. The Blue Family

Blu groaned as he opened his eyes in the morning. He propped himself up against the hollow wall, and peered around, looking for Jewel.

"Jewel?" He called out, when he couldn't find his mate anywhere.

His vision clarified as he snapped awake.

"Jewel?" He called out again. The hollow was empty, except him, and what seemed to be cushion of sticks and leaves in a corner.

 _You idiot, it's a nest!_

Blu got up, and walked around, trying to calm his mind. Just as he was about to start panicking, Jewel entered the hollow, with a few sticks in her beak. She waltzed over to the nest in the corner, and inserted the new sticks into the little structure.

"Morning, Bobo," Jewel said.

"Er.. Why are you suddenly building a nest?" Blu asked, looking at the structure in the corner.

Jewel shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt like it was time."

 _Must be her instincts telling her that the eggs are coming soon._

Blu nodded, masking his thought as well as he could.

"Have you eaten?" Blu asked.

Jewel thought back, and shook her head.

"Okay, rest here, I'll be right back," Blu said, leaving to find food.

Jewel looked over her shoulder and peered at the nest.

 _Hmm... It just needs a few more._

Blu made his way to the only fruit tree he knew, and searched for fruit to pick, but as Jewel had predicted yesterday, the tree was devoid of fruit. Blu groaned as he figured that he had no idea where else to get food. He started foraging through the jungle, hoping to find something to get back.

 _This isn't going too well..._

In the meantime, Jewel had collected even more sticks, and inserted each carefully into the nest, until she was satisfied. She stepped into the nest, and sat in it.

 _Gosh, what's taking Blu so long?_

Trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees! Blu groaned in frustration as he circled around, but still couldn't find any fruit trees.

 _Okay, only a few options left._

Blu was about to resort to going all the way to the club, when he broke out of the forest, and saw a beach. Blu's spirits were lifted when he realized what that meant.

He flew quickly, scouring the beach, and soon found what he was looking for.

Humans.

And when there were people, there was bound to be food somewhere. He flew overhead, and soon saw a picnic basket with a few wrapped melon slices in it.

 _Perfect!_

He swooped down, and landed at the edge of the basket, just as he was about to grab two slices, someone grabbed him from behind. Blu yelped, and tried to escape, but was unable to wriggle out of his captive's grasp.

He turned around, and saw that a baby was holding him with two hands.

"Nice, human," Blu squawked, as the boy stared him in the eye.

Without warning, the child put Blu in his mouth, causing his captive to scream in disgust. The human sucked on Blu's face for a moment, then spat him out, along with some feathers, from his mouth.

"Ew," Blu whined as he shook himself free of saliva. The baby peered at the blue macaw, and started shaking him as fast as he could.

"Gah! Help! Somebody help me!" Blu screamed as he became slightly dizzy.

"What do you have there?" An adult walked toward the baby. The distracted baby finally let go of Blu, allowing him to fly free. He charged toward the basket, and grabbed two slices of melon, and shot off, leaving the adult staring.

Back at the hollow, Jewel was starting to feel a slight tingle. "What is it now...?" Jewel breathed out, and thought of something else. "Probably just hungry," she tried convincing herself, but to no avail.

 _Oh Blu, hurry back..._

Just as she thought of it, she heard the flapping of wings from outside. As she expected, Blu came in, with two slices of melons in his talons.

"Oh boy... What a morning," Blu said, panting.

"Blu, what happened? You smell...weird," Jewel noted.

"Long story short, there's human saliva on me," Blu wheezed.

"You took food from a human?" Jewel laughed, looking at the wrapped melons, and putting two and two together.

"This is the last time I do that," Blu said, finally catching his breath.

The two began their meal, after Blu unwrapped the fruits.

Jewel was about to bite into the melon, but felt a pain in her torso, and flinched, breathing in sharply. Blu looked up at Jewel.

"Does it taste that bad?" Blu asked, a little confused.

Jewel shook her head, and held her stomach.

 _Oh my god... Now?!_

Blu got up, genuinely worried, and ran to Jewel's side.

"Jewel? Are you okay?" Blu asked, not sure what else to say.

"Do I look okay?" Jewel asked sarcastically.

"What's wrong?" Blu asked, realizing the stupidity of his previous question.

"I think the eggs are coming," Jewel groaned, clutching her stomach.

Blu screamed. Even in her pain, Jewel managed to roll her eyes.

 _What was I expecting._

"Now?! I thought it would take a few months!" Blu screeched, running around the hollow.

"You are not helping!" Jewel commented, feeling something rumbling.

"We should be at Tulio's now!" Blu screamed, continuing his paranoia.

"Alright, get over here!" Jewel demanded. Blu ran over to her side, only to be grabbed by her, hard.

"Your grab is tighter than that human baby!" Blu wheezed, trying not to struggle.

Jewel simply responded by tightening her grasp. It continued for some time, with Jewel hugging Blu like a pillow, and Blu gasping like a fish out of water. Finally, Jewel felt the pain quickly subside, and she could slowly hear her breathing again.

"Jewel, you're choking me," Blu gasped.

"Oh," Jewel released a wheezing macaw, and Blu fell backwards, and panted.

Jewel turned her head, and saw the three whitish eggs resting in the nest with her. Blu soon got up as well, and his wheezing was halted when he saw the eggs.

"Well, now for the wait, and soon they'll be out," Blu said in a softer tone.

Jewel nodded, stroking one of the eggs with a wing.

As the magical moment slowly passed, Jewel's five senses gradually returned as well.

"Blu?"

Her mate turned to face her.

"You still reek of human saliva."


	14. Dangerous Game

"You pitiful mammal! I said SCOUT, not ATTACK! Your plain inability to understand simple instructions Is baffling."

"But we still have their home locations!"

"For all you know, you made them MOVE! Just like the last time!"

The malicious villain paused for a moment, plotting his next move.

"Point out their locations. If I don't find them there... Then let's hope your successor would be wiser."

"Okay, this is getting out of hand," Jewel grumbled, watching the next layer of cloth Blu arranged under the eggs.

"But they're so fragile... What if something happens to them?" Blu asked worriedly.

"Okay! Okay, continue," Jewel huffed, giving in reluctantly. It was probably the only time Jewel could feel as anxious as Blu was, which led her to agreeing to such paranoid acts. She was only hiding it much better.

"This should suffice," Blu said, examining the five layers of cloth over the nest, with the three eggs resting on top.

"How long are we gonna keep these here?" Jewel asked, still dumbfounded at how she could accept the crazy idea.

"Maybe until they hatch," Blu replied.

"And how long is that?" Jewel never really knew how long.

Blu scratched his head as he tried to recall.

"Er... A month, If I remembered right," he concluded.

A clap of thunder echoed throughout the forest. The couple moved over to the hollow entrance, and peered out.

"It might rain soon," Jewel stated.

Just as she finished her sentence, rain droplets fell from the sky. A light drizzle had started.

"Soon, hmm?" Blu commented.

A flash of lightning illuminated the darkened jungle briefly.

"Jewel? Did you see that?" Blu asked, squinting into the darkness outside.

Jewel stared outside, her eyes combing through the scenery looking for anything out of place.

"What am I looking for?" Jewel asked, still trying.

Another silent burst of lightning flashed across the trees. Whatever Blu saw, it was no longer there. Blu shook his head, and let it go.

"Never mind. Must be my mind playing tricks," he said, settling deeper inside the hollow.

Jewel yawned, dismissing the worry.

"It's late. Worry about it tomorrow," she said, making herself comfortable next to the nest.

As Jewel closed her eyes to get some shuteye, Blu worriedly peered out of the hollow from his position. He couldn't be sure, but when the lightning had flashed the first time, he thought he saw something dirty white shifting away from his line of sight.

With great difficulty, Blu dismissed his worries, and tried to go to sleep.

But for once, Blu's worries were accurate.

After a few minutes, while Blu was still trying to sleep, a strange feeling in his gut sent shivers down his spine.

 _Someone's watching. Get up!_

Blu opened one eye steadily, but the eye was facing a wall, and he couldn't observe anything. The sound of someone landing in the hollow nearly made Blu scream. He wanted to open his other eye, to see what was going on, but his mind started picturing all sorts of horrors.

 _Stop! Just do it!_

Blu shot up, facing the hollow entrance, expecting nothing. But there was something. _Someone_.

"Nigel?!"

The moment he uttered the words, he felt himself freezing in fear, unable to do anything else.

The cockatoo rose to his full height, dismissing any stealth that he attempted.

"Miss me?" He asked, in a menacingly low tone.

Upon hearing his cold voice, Blu snapped out of his fear and shouted out.

"Jewel!"

Nigel immediately shot toward Blu like a bullet, and grabbed his throat with a talon. With frightening speed, he slammed Blu onto the ground, holding him. Blu tried to continue to call for help, but only managed gasps.

"You won't escape this time," Nigel said, staring at the blue macaw right in the eye.

Just then, someone pounced into Nigel, causing him to fall off balance, and let Blu free. Jewel had awoken to the noise, to the unpleasant surprise. With all her might, Jewel brought back her talon, and threw forth a deadly swipe. Nigel dodged the attack, and used the slight imbalance Jewel had against her. With an iron wing, he swiped at Jewel's back, flinging her forwards. With no hesitation, the latter spun to face her opponent, and clawed at him again and again. Nigel stumbled back at the sudden onslaught, suffering a few cuts, but shrugged off the attacks, and charged toward Jewel head on. Jewel tried to dodge, but was too late. With a mighty impact in her gut, Jewel fell back. She felt as though the hit had forced all the remaining air in her body to escape, with her fight following closely. With a grunt, she tried to will herself to fight on, but her body wouldn't budge. As her adrenalin faded slowly, the pain of the injury she had suffered fully kicked in, causing her to scream in pain.

"Pah!" Nigel spat at her, with his anger directing his motions. He stormed up to her, intent on finishing her off, only to be hit again. This time, Blu had tackled Nigel. The cockatoo was getting more angry and restless. With a powerful kick, he sent Blu against a wall, and grabbed his neck with a talon. With one final move, he slammed Blu against the ground once more.

"Nobody to help you now," Nigel murmured, with murder in his eyes. He was in no mood to play games anymore. From his position, Blu saw Jewel in a corner, clutching her chest, unable to do anything.

NO! I am NOT going like this!

With that one thought, Blu used his talon to savagely rip off some of Nigel's tail feathers, causing his opponent to screech and loosen his grip. Blu used his free space, and but down, hard, onto Nigel's leg. Nigel cursed and tried to get free, but Blu held on. Nigel endured the pain, and hauled Blu toward the hollow wall, and slammed him against it. With each hit, Blu could see more and more stars flying around, but his grip remained firm, and he only bit down harder.

"Get off me you useless piranha!" Nigel screeched, still slamming Blu against the wall. But as he was busy, little did he notice that Jewel had braved her injury and got up. Jewel drew back her talon, and with as much force and speed as before, she ripped at Nigel's back. But as Nigel turned around and looked, the attack came into contact, creating three long scratches from his cheek to his lower torso. The cockatoo screamed in pain, and in one last swipe, he sent Blu flying across the hollow, and shot out in an escape. Jewel prepared to take chase, but realized that she was in no condition to fight, and so was Blu. Choosing to stay behind, Jewel stayed back to tend to Blu's and her own wounds.

Nigel had tried to fly far, but his ruined tail feathers made flying a dramatic issue. As he tried with futile effort to handle the problem, but ended up crashing into a bush anyway. He hid under some unidentifiable debris to hide from the rain, his anger seeping into hate.

"It is only a matter of time! Just you watch," he whispered to himself angrily.


	15. Aftermath

The rest of the night was a sleepless one to the blue macaws. Neither could rest after such an event.

But as morning came, the paranoia seeped away in the calming light, and Blu and Jewel's exhaustion finally caught up with them. And thus, it lead to the rather unkempt scene Rafael stumbled upon in the afternoon. Blu was lying on the edge of the nest in the corner, while Jewel was snoring in the nest, with the three eggs beside her. Rafael pondered at whether he should wake them, and decided not to. But, as he turned to walk out, the two sleeping birds snapped out of their slumber, and in their semi-blinded state, jumped on Rafael, screaming war cries.

"AHH!"

Rafael fell back at the combined weight of the two. As his attackers realized who they pounced on, they jumped off just as quickly.

"Sorry, sorry," Blu apologized, helping Rafael up.

The toucan had a good stare at the two blue macaws, and was shocked by their physical state. Blu had a black eye, where Nigel had slammed him on the ground, and Jewel had a large bruise on her chest. Both were disheveled, and had sleepy and wary looking eyes.

"What happened to you two?" Rafael asked, still rather horrified.

"Nigel attacked," Blu explained, keeping it short and simple.

Rafael flinched at the name. It certainly didn't bring back any good memories.

"Oh my goodness, you two need more rest," Rafael said, worrying about the two macaw's well beings. "You both look terrible."

"But.. Nigel," Blu murmured, as Rafael gently got him to lie down again.

"The...the eggs," Jewel continued, as Rafael turned to her.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to them," Rafael promised, escorting Jewel next to Blu. The toucan silently stood guard as Blu and Jewel got some much needed rest, careful not to disturb the two. The toucan trembled at little at the thought of the cockatoo showing up at that moment. He couldn't match up to Nigel's physique. Not a chance. But he still had to try. He sat by the hollow entrance, peering for any suspicious activity, scanning the trees for any signs of danger.

At that moment, a familiar pair of birds came into sight. Rafael sighed in relief as Nico and Pedro came into the hollow. He put a feather to his beak, signaling the two to be quieter.

"Why are the lovebirds sleeping now?" Nico whispered to Rafael.

The toucan responded by telling them about Nigel's attack. The canary and the cardinal scowled at the name. They weren't too fond of Nigel either.

"That is one bad, bruise," Pedro said, noticing the ugly discoloration on Jewel.

"What can we do if Nigel shows his ugly face here? There's no way we can beat him," Nico pointed out bluntly.

"Well, there's five of us here against one Nigel. How bad can it be?" Rafael asked.

Pedro and Nico looked over at the sleeping blue macaws, which caused Rafael to reconsider the odds.

"Fine. Fine. Three to one," Rafael corrected himself. "Those are still pretty even odds."

"Rubbish! He whacked us the last time!" Nico retorted, still unconvinced.

"And we can't sit 'ere all night either, plus it definitely won't be too safe for 'em here," Pedro said.

Rafael thought for a moment. That was a real problem. So where could Blu and Jewel stay where they would be safe from Nigel?

"Well, there's no way Nigel can beat 20 of us at my hollow," Rafael said, though not seriously considering it.

"Blu and Jewel can't beat 18 birds either," Nico said, shivering at his last encounter with Rafael and Eva's kids. The little toucans had piled on top of him and Pedro, pretty much squashing them into little pancakes.

"Yeah, no kidding," Pedro said.

"Well why don't they stick with their human friends? Nothing better than giants protecting you," Nico suggested.

"Well, that isn't a bad idea at all," Rafael said.

"Except that's how Nigel got 'em both the first time," Pedro pointed out.

It took some time for Blu and Jewel to finally get up, fully refreshed, and by that time, it was already evening.

"Here, have something to eat," Nico rolled over two mangoes he fetched from the club for the blue macaws. Blu and Jewel had only noticed how hungry they were when their stomachs growled at the fruit. After all, they didn't have anything to eat throughout the night and most of the day.

"Guys," Blu said, "thanks for everything."

"Yes, thanks for everything," Jewel said as well.

"Eh, no problem!" Rafael said, only glad to help.

"Sorry to trouble you," Blu apologized.

"No trouble," Nico smiled.

"Get well soon, ok?" Pedro said, still staring at Blu's black eye.

Despite the birds' invitations to go to their places, Blu and Jewel didn't want to trouble them more, and rejected them.

"If that ugly thing comes back, I will order you to move in," Nico said, referring to the cave.

With that, the visitors bid farewell, and reluctantly left the couple alone.

Blu felt a slight pang when the silence came. The sudden cut off from noise reminded him of the silence before Nigel struck.

"My eye is still sore from yesterday," Blu complained, rubbing his eye with a wing.

"Stop that, you're only making it worse," Jewel said, shifting his wing away.

She hid a worried look after she saw the bruise.

"How bad is it?" Blu asked, noticing her hesitation.

"It looks pretty bad," she admitted, not sure what to do about it.

"Tulio might be able to help us," Blu suggested.

"But what about the eggs?"

Blu pondered at Jewel's inquiry. They couldn't carry such rounded items easily, and they couldn't just leave them.

Then he remembered an old computer GIF he had seen on Linda's computer.

Blu grabbed the corners of the four cloth underneath the eggs with his beak, and lifted the whole thing up.

"This should suffice," he tried to say, but was muffled by the cloth in his beak.

With that, the macaws headed over to the Aviary for the night.

"Goodness! What happened to you two?" Tulio fussed over the birds. Though he was worried, there was hardly anything he could do. They were, after all, simply bruises. After applying a spicy cream, the bird doctor simply left the two alone in the artificial jungle with the eggs.

"At least Nigel can't get in here," Jewel said, peering around the familiar area.

"Yes. He can't get in," Blu stated with confidence. He moved over to the eggs, gazing upon them.

"Now the eggs will be safe from harm."

"What happens when we get back?" Jewel asked, still doubting their future. They couldn't possibly live in an artificial jungle forever.

Blu thought for a while. It wasn't like there were easily available methods of learning how to fight for birds.

"I don't know," he said.

As the two thought in silence for a moment, the lights in the simulated environment dimmed. It was getting late.

"Well, we could always set up a trap at the entrance," Blu suggested.

Jewel rolled her eyes at the idea. "You do realize that it would affect visitors as well, right?"

Blu shrugged. "You got a better idea?"

"Maybe you should learn a thing or two about self defense," Jewel laughed.

Blu pondered for a moment. He had been raised in a safe and comfortable environment, and with no reason for violence, he hasn't adopted any kind of self defense. But he definitely had a reason now.

"Okay, sure," Blu accepted.

Jewel looked funny at Blu. She hadn't intended for it to be a serious statement.

"Er... I can feel myself getting second thoughts," Jewel said.

"Oh come on, what could go wrong?" Blu asked.

"Many, many things," Jewel replied, not sure how to list down the hundreds of possibilities.

"What if I beat you in a fight?" Blu asked playfully.

"There's no way," Jewel laughed. "But I'd like to see you try."

The two laughed for a moment before Blu stopped, and smiled.

"You're on," he said, tackling her.

"Hey! I didn't mean it literally!" Jewel squirmed around in the little wrestle, getting out of Blu's grasp.

Blu attempted to grab onto her again, but he was too slow, and she was too fast.

"Missed again," she laughed, dodging another grab.

"Only a matter of time," Blu stated, and attempted another lunge.

Jewel shifted to the side, and grabbed onto Blu mid-flight, and, after a brief pause, dropped him onto the ground.

"In you dreams," she teased, looking down at him smugly.

Blu smiled at her breach in defense, and grabbed on her, and dragged her down beside him. Jewel didn't expect the attack, and toppled easily.

"Maybe it is my dream," Blu smiled.

Jewel got up, tidying her ruffled feathers.

"Fine, you made your point," Jewel said.

"Do we start tomorrow?" Blu asked eagerly.

"Okay, okay, anything's fine," Jewel replied.

Blu whistled, and did a little celebratory dance.

"But, you still can't beat me," Jewel smiled. "I went easy on you."

"Oh but Jewel, so did I."


	16. Training plants

"RAWR!"

Blu shot up, shocked out of his wits at the alien sound. It was just Jewel, giving a new wakeup call.

"Really?" Blu asked, crossed his wings.

"Oh come on, I had to see if you were gonna sleep through the case of an attack," Jewel smiled, moving off.

Blu grunted, and got up as well. "Well if you do it every morning, I think I may."

Two apples dropped from the ceiling, as breakfast for the two.

"Well, our meal is here. You've got to admit, this is way better than foraging," Blu said, taking a bite from one of the fruit.

"I just don't feel the same eating something that fell from nowhere," Jewel said, chewing on a bit of apple.

After finishing their meal, it was time for Jewel to coach Blu.

"I have no idea where to start," Jewel said, thinking about it. It was the first time she had ever tried teaching.

"Okay, maybe let's see what you've got," Jewel decided, gesturing toward a thin plastic shrub in a corner.

"Attack it," Jewel said.

Blu looked at the plant, and thought for a moment, then curled up a wing and punch it. The plant simply wobbled a little. Blu looked at Jewel, expecting something else.

"Okay, this is gonna take some time," she said. Everything about how Blu hit was wrong.

"First off, don't fight like a human, you're a bird, we don't punch people with one of the softest parts of our body," Jewel explained.

"Point taken," Blu replied, looking at his wing.

"Maybe use something sharper. Like your talons," Jewel said.

Blu walked up to the plastic plant again, and swiped at it. But there was too little force and the plant was not harmed one bit.

"Maybe a demonstration?" Blu requested.

"Fine," Jewel said, moving up to the plant. She held back her talon, and swung at her target with blinding speed. The plastic stem had a deep scratch in it, and the whole plant itself flopped toward one side.

"Why are they ripping up my plastic plants?" Tulio said, observing from the control room. Fernando, who was spectating the scene as well, laughed at what seemed like a random outburst at a piece of plastic

"The key, is being fast and accurate," Jewel said. "If you concentrate on strength, you're gonna miss a lot."

Blu nodded, still staring at the damaged plastic.

"I'd like to see how fast you do it, swipe at the air," Jewel instructed.

Blu nodded, and, as quickly as he could, he swiped at the air. Jewel looked a little amused.

"Okay, when I said don't concentrate on strength, I didn't mean you didn't need strength. Your speed needs some work too. Try again."

Blu swiped again, with more force.

"Good your strength seems in check, but you're still too slow," Jewel said. "Imagine Nigel's ugly face over there! What do you do?" She continued.

Blu took in a breath, and used all his might to swipe hard and fast. Jewel nodded, and accepted the results.

"That'll do for now. Try it on that plant," Blu's mentor instructed, gesturing toward another unharmed plastic shrub.

Blu moved over to the plant, prepared briefly, and then swiped at it the same way he did it previously. This time, the plant suffered a scratch, but the damage wasn't enough to make the plant flop, like how the previous one did.

Meanwhile in the control center, Tulio was racking his brains so as to why the birds would suddenly attack his fake plants.

"Maybe they're training," Fernando guessed, unaware of how close the guess was to the actual reason.

"Nah, no bird has ever displayed signs of that," Tulio replied, "they fight with their instincts."

"Okay, you're almost there, I guess. Let's see how well you do with some added advice. Try jumping before you hit. Your bodyweight can act as a way of increasing your speed and force," Jewel said.

Blu nodded, and tried the new technique on another plant. He did get enough force. But he chose the wrong plant. His talon struck the plastic plant, but the object was too thick, and his talon got stuck in it.

"Jewel? A little help?" Blu used his other talon to try and push himself out, but the trapped limb had claws buried too deep into the plant.

"That's gonna be a problem," Jewel commented, trying to pull Blu out as well.

Back in the control room, Fernando was laughing his head off at the macaws.

"That is some very curious behavior," Tulio admitted, zooming in on the two from a camera.

At that moment, Linda had arrived. She heard from Tulio that Blu and Jewel were at the aviary, and wanted to see the two.

"What is going on in there?" Linda asked, looking at Tulio's screen.

"I don't have the foggiest idea. Some time ago, they started hitting and scratching at the plastic shrubbery in the place. And now, I think Blu got stuck after he tried to scratch that plant," Tulio explained, bringing Linda up to speed.

"Why are you just watching instead of helping him get loose?" Linda asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I was studying their behavior. I guess its time to free him," Tulio said, walking out of the control room and into the artificial jungle.

It took some time, but Tulio managed to cut an opening big enough in the plant for Blu to free himself.

"Well, that's been a disaster," Blu commented, sitting on the ground and rubbing his freed talon.

"Well, you chose poorly," Jewel chuckled.

"Oh that's funny? I don't think you can cut it with your talons either," Blu retorted.

"Well," Jewel wasn't too sure on how to reply to it.

Blu grinned slyly. "If you can cut through it, I'll roll into the water," he said, tempting her to try.

"Just how gullible do you think I am?" Jewel laughed.

"What makes you say that? The plant was even cut by Tulio," Blu continued. "Scared you'll fail?"

Jewel huffed at the last statement.

"Alright! Fine," she said.

When she looked at the three holes where Blu's talons got stuck in, she had some second thoughts. But it was going to be strange of her to back out now.

"Just saying, if I get stuck, I am going to kill you," Jewel warned, and prepared to scratch the plant.

Blu watched, expecting her to get stuck.

But, with one clean stroke, Jewel sliced through the plastic stem. Blu gaped as the upper portion of the plant tumbled off.

Jewel winked at her shocked pupil.

"Looks like somebody's getting very wet," she added.


	17. Booby Trap

"This is going to end with Rafael, Nico or Pedro stuck in it," Jewel commented, looking at the trap Blu had set up at the hollow entrance. It was a simple pressure trap. If something stepped on the net on the ground, it would be caught in it.

"Well, but if Nigel got stuck in it, it'll be an advantage isn't it?" Blu said. "We can free our friends if they get caught, it shouldn't be much trouble."

Jewel shook her head. "Well, it still doesn't solve how they get tangled in a net in the first place."

"Then let's hope they don't," Blu ended, admiring his work.

"How do we test it?" Jewel asked, looking at the mechanism.

"Maybe one of us can step inside?" Blu suggested.

"Yeah, if that's the case, it's going to be you," Jewel backed off.

"Not an option, you don't know how to disarm the trap," Blu insisted.

"I am not getting in that. Maybe let's throw a rock at it or something."

Just as they were bickering, Rafael had walked into the hollow. Just as he stepped into the hollow, the trap sprung into action, and trapped the toucan in the net.

"You guys can match up to my kids in the effort of trying to kill me," Rafael commented as Blu got the net off him.

"See Blu? Told you," Jewel said smugly.

"Well, at least we know it works," Blu muttered, resetting the trap.

"So, what brings you here?" Jewel asked Rafael.

"Well, I have...er... News."

Apparently, Eri happened to see some marmosets gathering, and he went to take a look, and saw Nigel hurling threats at them.

"That explains a lot," Jewel said after the toucan delivered his piece of news.

"That means that those monkeys didn't attack us on their own free will," Blu murmured, deep in thought.

"What is it, Blu?" Rafael asked, noticing that he had thought of something.

"Never mind, that's too risky," Blu dismissed.

"What is?" Jewel pressed.

"You may not want to know," Blu continued to hide his thought.

"So," Rafael interrupted, "what are you lovebirds planning to do today?"

"Well, we need to take care of the eggs, so we don't plan to go anywhere," Jewel explained.

Rafael nodded, he had quite a number of eggs before, and he understood the fear of losing any of them, and this fear was especially bad at his first batch.

"You could bring your eggs around with you," Rafael suggested.

"Aren't they much too fragile for that?" Blu asked.

"Not exactly. Unless you're taking a long flight," the toucan replied.

"Maybe you could visit my place with them," Rafael suggested.

"Err... We'd love to.. But.." Blu started, scouring for an excuse.

"Relax, Eva's home, none of them will bother you or the eggs," Rafael laughed.

Then he seriously considered it, and then realized that he was being unrealistic.

"Okay, maybe don't," he withdrew his invitation.

Just then, a crowd of toucans flocked into the hollow. It was Rafael's kids.

"Rafi, I'm going to bring them around the jungle, it's time they took a look around," Eva called from behind the kids.

"Need me to follow?" Rafael asked, straining himself to be heard over the kid's rowdiness.

"Sure, if you can," was the reply.

"HEY! Carlos! Don't go near those!" Eva barked, causing the little toucan known as Carlos to jump in shock, and fly away from the little nest in the corner.

"Ow!" Blu yelped, as something bit his tail feathers.

"Don't bother our hosts, go to your mother," Rafael gently pushed the toucan away from Blu toward Eva.

"I'll be going for now. See you soon!" Rafael then took a step toward the hollow entrance...

...Right onto the trap.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Jewel and Blu both chuckled at his clumsiness, and the latter got the trapped toucan out for the second time in the day.

"Guys! We've got to learn how to make those!" One of the little toucans said.

"Nope! Off you go! Chop chop!" Rafael herded the little ones out before they could closely examine the trap. Soon, the toucan family left to show their young ones around the forest.

"You think our kids will be like that in the future?" Blu asked Jewel, watching as the toucans flew off.

"It is very likely isn't it?" Jewel replied with a question.

"At least we won't have eighteen kids," Blu said, looking over at the eggs.

"Are we still planning on keeping the trap?" Jewel sighed, already anticipating the answer.

"Why not? It has proven to be very effective," Blu laughed.

"Want to see how effective it is?" Jewel asked innocently.

"Why would I? We saw it work twice," Blu replies, not suspecting a thing.

"You don't have a choice," Jewel smiled. As Blu was pondering what she meant, she lightly bumped into him, causing him to accidentally step on the net. As expected, the net closed on Blu, trapping the macaw in it.

"Jewel!" Blu whined, as the culprit laughed.

"You have no idea how to get me out, don't you?" Blu asked, staring at her with a rather unamused look.

"Hahaha... Er... No. No I don't," Jewel admitted.


	18. Brewing trouble

Things began to calm down after a week or two, and Blu finally agreed to remove the trap as the chance of Nigel attacking grew slimmer and slimmer. Blu and Jewel's eggs were almost ready to hatch in a few days.

It was an ordinary day for Eri. He was simply collecting fruit for the club, as he did most mornings. He was plucking a mango off a tree, when he noticed that he had entered marmoset territory. Eri knew that he wasn't welcome, and turned to leave, but then he heard the sounds of a large crowd nearby. Eri argued in his head, trying to let common sense override his curiosity, but to no avail. The macaw carefully balanced the mango on a small group of branches, and stealthily flew toward the noise.

It didn't take long before he found a gathering of the monkeys, with Nigel in the middle.

"I have finally amassed an adequate amount of some matches," the cockatoo announced proudly. In a corner, Eri saw a stack of matchboxes, each about one fourth his height. As he stared, Nigel continued his announcements.

"The time is perfect! The weather has never been more dry in a long time!" Nigel boomed.

"And so, your final use to me is coming soon," he concluded.

Eri remained at his position, pondering what he could possibly want with so many matchsticks.

"But... The forest! It will burn down with the tree!" Mauro raised, but then, realized that it was Nigel who he had questioned.

"Oh you foolish mammal," Nigel said in his menacing voice. He glared at the marmoset, causing the monkeys in between to shift away.

"You seem ignorant of the fact that I don't really care," Nigel continued, slowly taking a step toward Mauro.

Mauro backed off, not wanting to feel Nigel's wrath.

Eri watched in fear as he expecting something bad to happen.

"I would be squashing you right now," Nigel said, still giving the marmoset leader a cold glare.

"But I feel an even greater pestilence," he said, pausing for a moment,

Eri stared on, waiting for him to reveal the problem.

Then, the unexpected happened. The cockatoo turned, and stared at Eri straight in the eye. Even from the distance between the two, Eri felt pang of fear and shock as the cockatoo's eyes burned at him. One sound made him make a run for it.

"AFTER HIM!"

In that one order from Nigel, the whole force of marmosets massed upon Eri, who was already flying away. As he flew through the canopy, he could see the pursuers closing in on him. They were much faster than he had remembered. Without Eri's knowledge, Nigel had forced training on the marmosets, making them weapons instead of just scouts. Eri had met his match. For the first time in a long time, he pushed to the limits, feeling his lungs burning and his wings aching. He panted as he shot through the jungle, rushing anywhere, as long as he was away from the danger.

Although the marmosets were much faster than before, Eri was still that bit faster, and soon the marmosets lost him in the chase.

The macaw panted heavily, trying to stabilize his burring vision. As he stumbled around on his feet, he knocked into a solid object, causing him to fall. In his exhaustion, the macaw subconsciously closed his eyes and rested, hidden in a narrow crevice in a tree.

"I'm starting to worry. Eri has been gone for such a long time. It isn't like him to be late," Nico told Pedro, straining himself to be heard through the club's partying.

"Maybe we should look for him. Something might have happened," Pedro replied.

"Hey guys, what's up?" A familiar voice asked. It was Aaron. Nico and Pedro turned to look at the yellow macaw, and their worried faces instantly wiped his smile off.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.

"It's Eri. He isn't back yet," Nico explained, keeping it short and simple.

"He's long due! He's never late," Pedro continued.

"Should we go look for him?" Aaron suggested.

"It's a whole jungle out there, literally!" Nico reminded.

"Yeah, how are we gonna ever find him?" Pedro said as well.

"Well, we have to try," Aaron replied. "It's not like there's anything better to do."

"You got that right," Pedro said.

"Yes indeed," Nico agreed as well.

The trio took off, and began their search for the missing barkeep.

In the meantime, Eri snapped awake from his hiding spot. He glanced outside the crevice, and got out. Scanning his surroundings, he turned toward the direction where the club was at, and started making his way there. He soared through the sky on his comfort speed, saving his energy for any surprise he might get. But on the way, he spotted marmosets searching the jungle, scouring around. He stopped, and ducked behind a dead log, hiding from the marmoset's line of sight. Eri looked at the passing search parties, and decided to try and go around them. He shot, from tree to tree, hiding from their view, until he was sure that they couldn't see he whatsoever. From there, he continued his way toward the club. With the crowd there, he would be safer.

"Eri!"

Eri stopped at the faint call of his name. He could tell by the voice. It was Nico.

The macaw turned to where the sound came from, and followed it.

"Eri!" Nico called out for the umpteenth time, but there was still no reply of any sort. The canary hissed in frustration, looking around hoping to find Eri.

"If he's just dozing off somewhere, I'm gonna kill him!" Nico said.

"You'll never catch him," Pedro commented.

"I think I see something," Aaron said, hushing the other two.

The birds headed toward a silhouetted shape, hoping that it was what they were looking for.

Eri, in the meantime, spotted the group, and his heart skipped a beat. He rushed toward them, sparing no thoughts. Just at that moment, four marmosets pounced from nowhere, with one grabbing his beak tightly. Eri tried to scream for help in his muffled state, but couldn't get the attention of the searching birds. Eri struggled violently, and tried to call for help again and again as the marmosets tied him up, and dragged him away, further and further away from his hope of escaping.

"Guys? Where did that shape go?" Nico asked. They had seen the silhouette of what seemed to be a bird, but was actually the marmosets waiting to ambush Eri. They were so close, and yet so far.


	19. Blazing Hatred

"You are the barkeep of that atrociously rowdy club, isn't it?" Nigel asked slowly, in a deep, threatening tone.

The marmosets had captured Eri and tied him up with vines. Now he was on the ground, surrounded by a crowd of marmosets, and Nigel.

"Well, you've seen too much to be let free," Nigel continued, pondering Eri's fate.

"And I'm sure none of the monkeys here want to babysit you. Well, that leaves one option," Nigel yawned, stretching his wings, and then turned his back away from him.

"Dispose of him," Nigel said casually.

The marmosets hesitated. Nobody wanted to.

"Do it, or I shall dispose of you," Nigel continued, making it clear that it wasn't a choice.

The cockatoo turned, grabbed a matchbox from the pile, and flew off. When Nigel was out of sight, the marmosets turned to stare at Eri.

"Untie him," Mauro said, sending a pair to go and undo the knots.

Eri watched in suspicion as he thought of their motives.

"Look, we didn't sign up for any of this. Go and warn your blue birds," the marmoset leader explained, shooing Eri off.

"What is he doing?" Eri asked.

"Don't you see? He is going to burn down their home tree, and try to kill them in the fire! Along with the rest of the jungle! Now shut up and GO!"

Eri jumped at the last word, and quickly made his way to Blu and Jewel's hollow, racing against time to beat Nigel to them.

At the time, the sun was slowly setting, and the crimson light spread over the jungle. Though beautiful, it was bad news. Nigel could easily use the coming darkness to set up his trap. And it also meant that nobody would see him coming. Eri hadn't seen the cockatoo anywhere, and feared that he was too late. But luck was in his favor. Blu and Jewel's hollow was still intact. Without wasting a second breath, Eri charged toward it, and into the entrance.

Blu and Jewel were abruptly interrupted from their rest, and got up, staring at a disheveled Eri.

"Eri? Where have you been? Nico and Pedro were looking all over for you!" Blu said, escorting the unexpected guest inside.

Eri wasted no time, and got straight to the point.

"Nigel is coming! You have to run!" Eri warned.

Blu and Jewel glanced at each other, shocked at the sudden news. Blu snapped out sooner. He grabbed the four corners of a sheet of cloth beneath his eggs, and lifted it up, ready to go.

"It's not that simple! He plans to burn down the tree!" Eri said.

"But... Its the dry season! It's going to burn up the jungle!" Jewel gasped.

"We need to stop him," Blu said, after a brief moment of thought. Blu handed the eggs over to Eri.

"Take these to some place safe enough. Far from here," Blu requested.

Eri nodded, and took off with the eggs. The moment the macaw left, Blu hauled a dusty pile of thick, but dry vines, from a corner of the hollow and hastily set up the trap. "Jewel peered out the entrance, expecting the cockatoo to show up anytime.

"Come on, come on!" Blu murmured as he was getting done with the last parts of the trap. Just as he was handling the finishing touches, Jewel spotted the dreaded enemy, heading straight for the hollow. Jewel leaped away from the entrance dodging Nigel's primary assault. The cockatoo landed heavily in the hollow, his talons slicing through parts of the vine trap beneath him. The trap went off, but the cuts had ruined the net, and Nigel stood unaffected.

"It has been a while, isn't it?" Nigel started, only attracting more hateful glares toward him. "It has been so long since I last saw you."

"We could have waited longer," Jewel hissed, spreading out her wings, preparing for an attack.

Nigel stood at his full height, and did the same. The cockatoo faced his opponent, and the two slowly circled around the hollow, with Blu behind Jewel.

Then without warning, Nigel shot forward to strike a first blow, missing Jewel by mere few millimeters as the latter ducked. In the space given, Blu clawed at Nigel, but the cockatoo swerved away in the nick of time.

"I see the useless one learnt to fight," Nigel commented, in a cold and articulate voice.

The two blue macaws did not reply, and instead lashed out at Nigel at about the same time, giving the target little space to avoid the attacks. Nigel roared, and with one mighty blow, deflected the attacks and sent the two flying against the hollow wall. Blu and Jewel quickly got back to their feet, but Nigel was already upon them. Singling Blu out as the weaker fighter, Nigel focused three brutal strikes at the macaw. Blu frantically ducked, and swerved out of the way of two of the strikes, but his speed failed him at the third. The tip of Nigel's talon scratched Blu on the side of his neck. Blu flinched, and in that split second wasted, Nigel knocked him down in a heavy swipe. Jewel hit from behind, and clawed Nigel's right shoulder, giving three new wounds.

Her target lashed out in fury over and over, carelessly exposing many chances for Jewel to strike back. But as Jewel scratched at the exposures, Nigel grabbed her leg with a powerful talon, and, with one mighty swing, threw her at Blu. Jewel tried to get up, only for Nigel to grab her neck with his talon, and slam her head onto the ground. Blu charged over, and head-butted the cockatoo right in a rib, causing him to let go, and stumble backward. Jewel got up as well, and in a quick swipe, she added three more scratches to Nigel's already battered body. The two groups backed up against opposite sides of the hollow, preparing for a next onslaught.

"Give up! You can't beat us both!" Blu yelled.

"Not without help, I probably can't," Nigel admitted, not one bit sincere.

"But you can't beat me alone, either."

He charged forward at Jewel, who dodged out of the way. In the time she did, Nigel slipped out a matchstick from under his layers of feathers, and dragged it across the ground. A spark, and a small fire kicked to life. As Jewel turned to strike back, Nigel shoved it straight at her...

...but Blu jumped in the way.

The hot tip of the match went straight at Blu's chest, and he yelled in pain, and collapsed, rolling on the ground to extinguish any flames that may have gotten hold.

Jewel took the time, and clawed at one of Nigel's talons. Nigel screeched, and almost falling on one side as one of his legs was crippled. He took to the air on his wings, swinging the fiery stick around, causing Jewel to retreat to avoid the fire.

With a crazed laugh, Nigel simply dropped the matchstick and made a dash for it. Jewel grabbed the stick, and jammed it violently into the ground to extinguish the fire on it. As the last traces of fires were removed from inside, she ran to Blu to check on his injuries. His chest was badly burnt, with a large portion of his feathers blackened. Blu was panting rapidly, trying to focus on his breathing to try and numb out the pain.

Jewel gently felt the burnt area, but Blu hissed in pain at the touch, and she quickly withdrew, not sure what else to do.

The smell of smoke snapped her out of her worry. She rushed over to the hollow entrance, and gasped as she looked down. Nigel had set fire to most of the tree, and the fire was quickly spreading toward the hollow. She immediately grabbed Blu with her talons, and tried to fly out of the hollow, only to be knocked back in by Nigel. Blu was thrown out of her grasp, and was left unconscious from the impact. The cockatoo blocked the entrance, laughing as he did so. Jewel clawed at Nigel, but in his state of madness, Nigel deflected a few, and resisted a few, continuing to block the entrance, intent on seeing his enemies roast.

Jewel yelled in frustration as she hit the crazed bird again and again, feeling the temperature slowly rising. Billowing smoke was starting to choke her, making her attempts more and more desperate. With one final attempt, Jewel went head on, and savagely bit the cockatoo on his neck. Nigel finally budged, falling away from the hollow. Jewel rushed back, and picked Blu up again, making a final break for life.

Jewel rushed toward the aviary, blind to any other thoughts.

The crimson light of the fire illuminated the surroundings, causing many residents to awaken. In the billowing fires, many panicked, and flew away.

The branches of the tree slowly broke off in the heat, with the leaves on them incinerating in the blaze. A dry win blew the fires, spreading the sparks onto another tree. With slow speed, the red flames spread its devilish heat.


	20. Final Bout

"There is a fire in the jungle, close by the local aviary. The authorities are handling it, and claim that the situation is under control. No casualties have been reported, and minimal property has been damaged. The cause of the fire remains unknown."

Blu groaned as the noise from the television woke him up. The first thing he saw when he woke up, was Jewel.

"What are you looking so sad about?" Blu murmured, still half asleep.

Jewel found that he was back to his old blurry self, and sighed in relief.

"I brought you to the aviary, and Tulio patched you up," she explained.

Blu opened his eyes fully, and peered at his body. There was a sort of plaster on his chest. The night's events hit his memory, and he snapped awake.

"Where are we?" Blu asked.

"We're at the aviary. How else would Tulio get to you?" Jewel replied, rolling her eyes as she repeated herself.

"What happened to the jungle?" Blu asked.

Before Jewel could reply, Blu shot another question at her.

"Where are the eggs?"

"They are still with Eri. Who's not here," Jewel said, worrying about the safety of the eggs.

"They must be at the club, we need to get there!" Blu said, spreading his wings, about to start flying...

...only to feel a new ache in his chest.

Blu flinched at the pain.

"You're in no condition to fly," Jewel said, trying to calm Blu down.

"Then you should get there," Blu replied.

"What about you?" Jewel asked, not sure what to worry about first.

"I'll be fine, what could happen?" Blu reassured Jewel.

Jewel hesitated for a moment more, and decided.

At the club, Nico, Pedro and Eri were looking after the eggs.

"What do we do with em?" Nico asked. "I've never taken care of eggs before."

"Aren't you supposed to sit on em' or somethin'?" Pedro thought aloud, stroking his chin as he pondered.

Nico took his thought as a tip, and climbed onto one of the eggs, and sat on it.

"This feels weird," he commented. The egg was way too big, and was probably around his size.

"The one thing I know, is don't put your weight on it!" Eri suddenly said, shooing Nico off. His sudden outburst caused Nico and Pedro to look at him funny. The canary slowly got off the egg.

"So," Pedro said, breaking the awkward silence, "we just leave em' as they are?"

"Maybe you should leave them to me."

The trio of birds froze at the new voice. None of them had said that. They slowly turned toward the voice, fearing the worst.

And the worst had come.

Though slightly burnt, and missing a few feathers, there stood Nigel, glaring at the eggs.

"Pests mustn't be allowed to thrive. Hand them to me, and I'll think about sparing you," the cockatoo said.

"Nuh uh! You can't beat the three of us combined!" Pedro said, stepping in front of the eggs.

"Oh really?" Nigel asked.

"Maybe not. But I'm sure you can't beat all of us either," The cockatoo continued. Out of the ceiling, and all around, marmosets entered the cave, surrounding the three birds within a few seconds. Everywhere was blocked in the blink of an eye. Nico, Pedro and Eri looked around at the hopeless situation, but still held their ground.

Nigel opened his beak to issue an order, but was knocked back by an entity. The marmosets watched as the cockatoo brawled with an unknown, not sure what to do.

As the dust cleared, it revealed Jewel clawing and biting at Nigel, while the latter was blocking her attacks off. Nigel slammed both wings at her, knocking Jewel backwards.

"Tie her up!" Nigel ordered. Within moments, marmosets massed upon Jewel, and soon subdued her. As she struggled in her restrained states, Jewel spat at Nigel. The cockatoo charged at her, and grabbed her neck.

"Maybe you should die first!" He yelled. Jewel gasped as his grip tightened, struggling violently.

"Stop!"

A voice echoed through the whole cave. Nigel released Jewel, and turned to look.

"Don't you all hate Nigel? He is using you!" Blu was at the main entrance, speaking to all the marmosets. Some of the monkeys looked down apologetically. A good sign to Blu.

"Don't wait for someone to help you! Your fate is in your own hands!" Blu continued.

"You have the numbers! You can overwhelm Nigel! Defeat him once and for all!" Blu finished. The marmosets continued staring, none daring to act.

Blu was taken aback. He expected them to fight back. Now that his plan failed, he didn't know what to do. Nigel's laugh brought him back from his thoughts.

"You are trying to get them to betray me? Well you've failed. A pathetic plan indeed," Nigel mocked. He extended his wings, about to charge at Blu...

...and then Mauro stepped up and grabbed the cockatoo's leg.

"You know, he is right. You can stand up against all of us," the marmoset leader said. Nigel pulled out of his grip, and turned to strike at him, but before he could, the marmosets rallied to their leader, finally breaking the chain of fear holding them in place. The monkeys massed upon Nigel, hitting and ripping at him. Nigel roared in fury, and swiped at the crowds, knocking many into the sky, but there were just too many, and he was overwhelmed. The cockatoo screamed in anger, watching his entire plan of revenge crumble and disintegrate.

"This will not be the last you see of me! I will have my revenge!" He yelled at the birds, as the crowds of marmosets dragged him out of the cave.

Soon, only Mauro, Eri, Nico, Pedro, Blu and Jewel were left in the cave.

"So sorry for everything," Mauro apologized to the birds.

"Well, it's fine, you did good," Blu forgave the marmoset.

Jewel grunted in reply, and nodded, still not trusting the monkey.

"It's cool. A truce would be good, though," Nico said.

"That can be arranged," Mauro said.

"I will never forget what you did for us there, blue bird."

With that, he rushed off, intent on getting a few hits at Nigel.

The silence that followed, was calming. The threat of Nigel was finally removed. In the new found peace, a crack startled the crowd. The sound came from Blu and Jewel's eggs. Within a split second, the birds surrounded the nest, peering intently at the three eggs. All three were vibrating slightly. Without much delay, one of the eggs broke open, and a small blue chick emerged. Within a few seconds, the second and third egg burst open as well, and another two chicks were welcomed into the world. Jewel picked up two of the chicks, and Blu cradled the third.

"Two girls, and one boy," Blu whispered.

"They're so cute," Nico said, looking at the newborns.

"What shall we name them?" Jewel asked. One of the chicks she carried yawned, and snuggled up in the warm of Jewel's feathers. The other soon followed suit.

The chick in Blu's wings wanted to follow, but was obstructed by the uncomfortable plaster on Blu's chest. The chick chirped in annoyance, and fiddled around.

"Oops, sorry," Blu noticed, and brought his wings away from his chest.

Jewel chuckled at Blu.

"Maybe I'll call you... Tiago," Blu said, as the chick made himself comfortable in his father's wings.

"And I'll call you Bia," Jewel said, kissing the forehead of one of the sleeping macaws.

"What about the last one?" Blu asked.

Jewel thought for some time, and finally came up with a name.

"Carla."

The birds looked on in silence, gently cradling the newborns.

"Tiago, Bia, Carla," Nico greeted.

"Welcome to the World."


End file.
